


Muggle Studies

by LippiLions19



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-31 10:01:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 28,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3973942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LippiLions19/pseuds/LippiLions19





	1. Chapter 1

The war changed us all. Me more then most I guess. I am not the same sweet little girl I was when I first walked through the doors of Hogwarts. I can’t be.

We are back on the train for one last year. Most everyone, besides the Slytherins, is returning for their seventh year, as there wasn’t much learning going on last year. Harry, Ron, and I sit in one of the new compartments in the eighth year’s carriage of the Hogwarts express joined this year by Neville, Luna and Ginny.

“One last year.” Ginny says quietly from her spot under Harry’s arm. Ron looks at them with immense jealousy before glaring at me and then looking back to the floor. After the war I tried being with him even to the extent of letting him sleep with me but I broke it off within the first half month of the summer holidays. He was not considerate of what I wanted, expected me to be just like his mother and be content with popping out little red head children as soon as we were out of school. I think breaking things off with him was a good thing. I’ve come to realize that what I feel for him is what I feel for Harry. I love him like a brother, I only went for him because I was confused about those feelings and I could see that Harry was in love with Ginny so that took him out of the running. Though the breakup had a very bad effect on Ron. All of his violent tendencies seem to become to much for him to control and Harry told me that he had went on a rampage after I left.

“Yeah, I suppose it is.” Harry replies pulling his red headed witch closer. We all sit in silence for a while thinking over what Ginny had just reminded us of. I’m not sad exactly nor happy, to be leaving the school forever at the end of the year, I had a lot of really good experiences there but it is also where almost all of the troubles in my life started. As I said, not sad but also not happy. Luna sits next to Neville, holding his hand while reading her fathers magazine. Ron sits on Neville’s other side pressed up against the window. Harry and Ginny sit across from Neville and Luna and I across from Ron.

When we are about an hour and a half away from the station I force the boys out so we can change into our robes in peace. “Scram, out stinky boys.” Ginny chimes in, gently kissing Harry on the cheek. We all pull off out shirts and trousers and slip into our uniform skirts and blouses, me being especially careful not to turn my back to the pair. I am not surprised to find that my clothes are too big so I shrink them down to the right size.

“What.” I demand when I see Ginny and Luna looking at me strangely. They both turn to look away but I catch an almost pitying look in their eyes. I have been seeing that look a lot recently. When I go to the market and all along the platform today. 

We finish dressing and let the boys back in. They seemed to have found a place to change as well. Back in our seats the silence returns. I don’t mind, silence means no questions. No how are yous, no what did you do this summers. I relish the silence. Then it is interrupted. Malfoy bursts into our compartment. I look up at him numbly, still dancing through a haze.

“What are you doing here ferret?” Ron sneers. Apparently his snarky cells are all firing full power, or at least as full powered as they ever do as his insults have always fallen a little short.

“McGonagall wants to see Granger and me in her compartment right away.” He says flatly. “She said to tell you to bring your things.”

I wake up a bit when he mentions my name. He didn’t call me Mudblood or some other foul name. His lack of emotion interests me a bit as well. Ron’s insult looked like it barely touched him. “Whatever. I’ll be there in a sec.” Malfoy turns and walks back the way he came and I gather my things. For whatever reason the Slytherin prince succeeded in doing what no other had. He had woken me up, if only a bit.

“Be careful ‘Mione.” Harry cautions from his place on the bench. I role my eyes and leave the compartment not bothering to acknowledge any of them.

I walk to the front of the train where I spot a large compartment that has McGonagall’s name on the door. I nock as a formality and walk in and sit down. “Miss. Granger, as you know you have been chosen as head girl for this school year. Mr. Malfoy will be joining you in your post, as head boy of course.” The old witch said in her strangely fluttery voice. Her words hold no interest for me as I had assumed that this is what she had summoned me for.

“There will be a few changes at Hogwarts this year. First of all, all new seventh and eighth year students who participated in the war will be resorted as war has a way of changing people. Second, there will be a new mandatory course for all seventh and eighth years, it is called Muggle Studies as its predecessor was but the course has been altered dramatically. Third, there will be a new house added to the school. It will be for those students who can no longer be fit into the preexisting houses. It will be called Drakaina. The details for all of these changes have all been written out in detail and will be presented to the new head of houses as well as all prefects and to you two. Now as head boy and girl it is expected of you to behave as if things are absolutely normal.” McGonagall looked at us both as though she expected us to start trying to kill each other at a moments notice.

“And what of the open teaching positions?” Malfoy asks quietly.

“All have been filled. Luckily not many teachers were killed. There is, of course a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Muggle Studies Professor, and Transfiguration Professor. The castle has been fully repaired with only a few minor changes and there is no need to worry about anything but your studies and requirements as head girl and boy. Mr. Malfoy, if you would be so kind as to escort Miss. Granger to the head boy and girl compartment. Thank you. You may go if you have no more questions.”

I grabbed my things and walked out of the compartment, following Malfoy to the next door. He opens it and steps aside for me to walk in ahead of him. Strange, I wouldn’t think he would want a ‘Mudblood’ like me to walk into a room before him. Shrugging I walk into the large space and set my case on the bench across from where Malfoy sat down. I sit next to my case and settle in for the rest of the ride. But Malfoy has other ideas.

“How was your summer?” he asks.

“Oh just peachy, and yours?” I say in a sickly sweet voice.

“Mine was just fine thank you. What did you do?”

“I don’t see how that is any of your business.” I hiss coolly. Wow Granger, hissing. Haven’t said anything in anything other then monotone in a long time.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” He pauses as if considering his next words carefully. “You don’t have to wear your mask around me you know.” He sighs.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” I huff. Oh look, more emotion, great job.

“I can see it, the little cracks. It’s hard keeping it up all the time isn’t it.” He slumps in his seat. I think over his words. He is completely correct of course. I just can’t let it down. If I do I’ll fall apart. 

“Please wake me up when we get to the station.” Malfoy asks quietly. He shuts his eyes and before too long he is fast asleep. Pulling out my book from where I stashed it when he came to get me I flip to my page. Glancing up from reading after a while my stare locks with a pair of steely grey eyes.

“I thought you were going to sleep.” I say quietly, still staring at him. He closes his eyes again and I take the opportunity to study his face. He has always been very handsome and he is even more so now. His skin looks to have gotten some color over the summer and his hair is longer and lighter. He hasn’t slicked it back and it hangs loosely over his forehead. It is as though over the summer he had lost all the remaining boyish softness that used to surround him. Now he just looks tired. 

I am starting to scare myself now. I shouldn’t be noticing all of these things about the boy who made my life a living hell for the last seven years. Settling on the fact that he is simply a very attractive person and my interest in him is purely chemical I sit back in my seat and continue on in my book.

When we arrive at the Hogsmeade station I wake Malfoy and we prepare for the first of our duties. He allows me to exit the compartment first. We walk off the train together and place our luggage onto the ever-growing pile started off to the sides of the carriages. We then help all the students get where they needed to go. After all of the students have successfully boarded either the boats or carriages Malfoy and I get in the last carriage and it starts off towards the castle. Neither of us mentions the large beast pulling in front of us, as it would make us think more about why we can now see the strange creatures. We quickly catch up to the caravan of students heading to the castle and when we arrive Malfoy and I hop out quickly so we can get into the school to help organize the students milling about the front doors. 

“Seventh and Eighth students stay here for a moment before moving into your common rooms please.” McGonagall calls out from the top of the steps. I turn and look out over the black lake. I seems that the boats are going a little slow this year, probably due to the extra students. Turning back to the assembled mass I can see the second through sixth years moving into the castle and up to their common rooms to wait for the first years to arrive. The Seventh and Eighth years stay outside as asked and I glance around. There are many scenes of friends meeting each other after the holidays and catching up. 

“Have you no one to say hello to?” someone asks from behind me. I turn and find that the speaker is none other then the Head Boy.

“What about you? No past shags to welcome back?” I spit back. 

“Touché, but there was no need to be quite co cutting. I do have feelings you know.” He replies, a small smile crossing his face.

“I suppose I was a little harsh and to answer your question, no, there is no one I wish to exchange pleasantries with.” I shoot back adding a hint of scorn onto the word pleasantries.

“I would have thought that the Brains of the Golden Trio would have at least one person to greet but if you insist then I guess I will have to converse with you.” His easy banter tips me off guard a bit but I soon regain my footing.

“And what is it you wish to talk about Malfoy?” I ask in my most board of tones though inside I am slightly intrigued by this change in attitude.

“Well how about books? What’s your favorite?” Malfoy asks me in all honesty.

“I um… well. I don’t know. Maybe, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.” I say. I had never really thought about it but I suppose that it was the book I have read the most aside from Hogwarts a History. It’s interesting, the way he can garner my interests so easily, especially since I have prided myself in my lack of both external and internal emotion in the past month or so.

“I do quite like that one as well though I prefer The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.” He replies.

Slightly taken aback by his knowledge of muggle literature I am unable to form a coherent retort. I am saved from replying by the return of the new headmistress. “Ladies and Gentlemen, if you would follow me please.” She leads us into the Great hall where the tables have been pushed aside and three rows of about twenty-five chairs each have been set up. Malfoy and I being the last ones get the seats at the end of the last row and sit down just as McGonagall begins her short speech.

“As you all know, the war changed many of us and we, the teachers of Hogwarts, believe that some of you may have changed so much that the houses you were placed in in your first year are no longer the houses that you best fit into. So to remedy this it has been decided that all the students whom participated in the war will be resorted. Some of you may stay in your house and some may switch. Please understand that this isn’t a punishment and as an added incentive to make this change work a new common room has been built for the seventh and eighth years only. It is accessible through a portrait door in the sixth floor north corridor. The password is ‘Unity’ and I hope you will all take it as a personal message and behave like the adults I believe you all to be. The image is of four small children playing together, two boys and two girls. The children are all dressed in one of each of the houses colours. The next thing is that, as you are all of age, the spell preventing boys from entering the girl’s dormitories has been lifted on the seventh and eighth rooms, though it is still in place on the younger students stairways. All that we, the staff, ask is that this new rule does not cause any conflict and that you are discreet around the younger students. Finally every single seventh and eighth year student regardless of house is to be in the muggle studies classroom for first class tomorrow. This is the only change that is to be made to your schedule. You may go back into the hall now. I believe the first years have arrived and that the other students are starting to filter down. Professor Sprout will further direct you.”

“Seventh and Eighth years who participated in the Battle of Hogwarts over here please.” I hear professor Sprout saying as we all gather in the hall outside of the great hall. I assume that the first years are lining up in the small room that they traditionally use, as I can’t seam to spot them. Years two through six and a few seventh and eighth years file into the dining hall and take their seats. “Line up alphabetically you know what to do. I’ll come and get you when it is your turn.” The boisterous woman nearly shouts as she leads the scared looking eleven year olds into the hall. When she opens the doors I can hear McGonagall making her headmistresses speech about the coming year. Them faintly through the great doors we can hear the hat singing its horrid song and then it is time for the sorting. There are a lot of first years this year as many parents held their children back from coming to school last year so there are some twelve year olds in the crowd. Finally their sorting is over and Professor Sprout comes back out to gather us.

“Come now Ladies and Gentlemen. It is time.” She says somberly. We instantly stop talking amongst ourselves and follow her into the Great Hall. We had taken her order of arranging ourselves alphabetically farther and now stood in four lines, two for girls one of eighth and the other of seventh years and the same for the men. We walked in silently looking straight ahead and stood still as the sorting began.

“Hannah Abbot.” McGonagall calls.  
‘GRYFFINDOR’

“Susan Bones”  
‘HUFFLEPUFF’ 

“Lavender Brown” the pretty girl walks up to the stool and I nearly gasp out loud when I see the damage Greyback did to her face. It really is indescribable but it looks like she wears the scars with pride.  
‘HUFLEPUFF’ 

The list went on and on, I looked around a bit, there are no noticeable changes to the great hall aside from a fifth table set beside the Slytherins and next to the wall. The sconces on the walls are all lit and the ceiling still shows the night sky. I take a look at the professor’s table and see a few new additions. Andromeda Tonks is sitting beside Trelawney and two other new people whom I do not know though one looks almost familiar.

“Hermione Granger.” Finally! I walk quickly up to the stool and sit facing the congregated students. McGonagall places the sorting hat on my head and immediately it starts talking.

‘Such a brilliant mind, brave and caring, but there is something else here too. Sadness, and deep regret. You will no longer hesitate, to get want you want you will do anything, no mater the price. Yet you do not seek conflict. Interesting. You fit in every single one of these houses yet none at all.’

“That is why there is now a fifth am I correct.” I whisper at the damn thing.

‘No need to get snippy. Yes you are correct. Better be DRAKAINA’

The hall falls silent as the name of my new house is called. McGonagall takes the hat off my head and I walk down to the empty table to the right of the Slytherins, I seems like none of the first years were placed in our house.

A few more names are called then, “Neville Longbottom.”  
‘GRYFFINDOR’ the hat yells almost immediately.

“Luna Lovegood”  
‘DRAKAINA’

Sort of a surprise.

“Draco Malfoy” the hall falls silent yet again.  
‘DRAKAINA’

Well that’s a surprise. The Slytherin prince switching houses. At least there are three people at our table now, Not just me and Luna, and being in the same house will make being head boy and girl easier. And you find him intriguing, my stupid little voice pipes up from the very dark reaches of my mind. Stow it, no I don’t. I hiss back at the annoying little thing. Whatever it drawls. Malfoy sits as far away from Luna and I as the small table allows and rests his head on his hand before taking his wand out of his robes with the other and spinning it between his fingers. It looks like he got a new one from somewhere and I think this new one suits him much better. It is of lighter wood and looks a little longer and thinner then both his and his mothers. See, you even noticed that he got a new wand. You must be paying at least a little attention to him. My little voice is really on a role today. I haven’t heard from it in a long while.

“Padma Patil”  
‘GRYFFINDOR’

“Parvati Patil”  
‘GRYFFINDOR’

“Harry Potter”  
‘DRAKAINA’  
He walks over and sits next to me. More names. Dean goes to Gryffindor, Romilda Vane to Slytherin. 

More names, then, “Ginny Weasley”  
‘DRAKAINA’

“Ron Weasley”  
‘HUFFLEPUFF’

Wow, big surprise. I thought the Hufflepuff were supposed to be the calm, quiet, and peaceful ones. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.

I didn’t pay attention after that. There are a few more seventh years to get through then the feast begins. I grab some plain brown rice and broccoli and take a few bites of that before pushing my plate away. I notice Ginny and Luna giving me looks again but the don’t say anything. I stare out across the great hall. All the little kids are talking excitedly but the older ones are quieter, the seventh and eighth years nearly silent. There is a lot of that going on around here. Meal finishes and the other houses head back to their dorms. It was explained to the prefects that all the common rooms and dormitories are in the same places as before and what you need to do to get into them.

My little house of five stays at our table. We don’t know where our dormitory is or how to get into it or anything. Professor McGonagall walks over to us followed closely Andromeda Tonks.

“Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Drakaina house. You are all here for different reasons and weather or not you choose to share those reasons is up to you. I was expecting more students to fall into this house but alas it was not to be.” Andromeda says quickly. “I will be your head of house and will escort you to your dormitory. Please follow me.” We all got up and nodded to the new headmistress as our head of house lead us out of the dining hall and up several flights of stairs and finally stop in front of a blank wall on the seventh floor across from a very large tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy attempting to train Trolls in ballet.

“The Room of Requirement? But I thought it was completely consumed by the fire last year.” Harry asks. I notice Malfoy flinch at his mention of the fire.

“We were able to repair it just enough for it to generate one set of rooms. Headmistress spelled it so that only the people in Drakaina house could get in and so that it would only change if all five of you wanted it to. All you have to do is think, ‘I need the Drakaina common room’ and this portrait should appear.” As she was speaking a thin portrait of a very attractive young girl appeared on the wall.

“Hello students, my name is Aniline Drakaina.” She said in a soft sweet voice. I noticed the two boys staring at the beautiful girl. Its hard not to and I am completely straight. She is very thin and has long, graceful arms like a dancers. She is wearing a gown from a long time ago; it appears to be deep indigo with platinum looking fastenings down the bodice. The skirt falls to the ground all around her when she is standing and when she was sitting, as she was when she first appeared, I could see that she had matching slippers. Her hair tumbles in loose light brown curls down her back and is held back from her face by a thin band of the same metal that is on her dress. She appears to be in a castles courtyard similar to the small, forgotten one in Hogwarts. Beside her chair is a small table upon which rest a few books and other nick knacks. 

“Hello Aniline,” we all say.

“Merlin’s Heart.” Mrs. Tonks says softly and the portrait swings open revealing a small room with four different doors set into the wall aside from the portrait hole. The entire place is decorated in the exact same colours as Aniline’s dress so I assume that those are our house colours. I ask as much.

“Quite right you are Miss. Granger. Those are indeed your house colours. I will leave you now. You may figure out what rooms are yours on your own.” Mrs. Tonks says, bidding us good night.

“Wait, Andromeda, where is Teddy? Is he here?” Harry asks.

“Yes he is. Poppy is watching him right now.” The teacher replies as she leaves.

“Should we look at the rooms now or later?” Ginny asks. She looks happy that Harry is still in her house and is sticking close to him. Every one seems to be avoiding Malfoy though he doesn’t seem to mind.

“Why would we put it off? Would it not be easier to just do it now?” Luna asks no one in particular.

“That’s a good point. We should figure it out now so we don’t have to when we are all half asleep.” Harry supplies. The first door on the left leads into a room largely decorated in light creams and soft blues. There is a large king four poster in the middle of the back wall between two enchanted windows set over two light wood nightstands. There are two doors in the left wall the first opens into a large bathroom with two sinks and a very large bathtub. The next door goes into a gigantic walk in closet. It is clearly meant for two people as a woman’s clothes are hung on one side and a man’s on the other.

“I believe this is Harry and Ginny’s room.” Luna says in her light airy voice.

“You are probably correct Luna. Lets leave them to it then.” Malfoy jokes a bit, surprising me. Harry looks at Luna and I worriedly but I motion to him that we would be fine and for him to enjoy his time with his witch. 

Luna and I follow Malfoy into the next room that is so obviously Luna’s. It is beautiful light yellow and gold everywhere in pretty much the exact same style as Harry and Ginny’s even the doors are in the same place. Luna floats over to her bed and sits down softly rubbing the coverlet. 

Malfoy and I quickly walk out of her room and into the next one. This room is a complete turnaround from the first two. It has dark wood floors and indigo papered walls. The bed and tables are made from the same wood as the floor and the hangings are shear indigo fabric with platinum edging. 

“Um, I’m not sure whose room this is.” Malfoy says,

“Me neither. Lets go look at the other one before we look in the closet.” We enter the next room and find that it is very similar to the last one. The only difference is that the hangings are shear platinum egged with indigo and pillows on the bed are the deep purple instead of the shimmery metallic color.

“I still have no idea.” I admit, walking over to the closet. I pull it open to find it empty. “Well shit.” This is really starting to annoy me. “Maybe we are meant to pick our rooms.” I suggest flatly.

“Hey, do you guys know what happened to all of our clothes?” Harry says, running into the room Malfoy and I are standing in before Malfoy can answer.

“We don’t know.” Malfoy says for us as Ginny walks in. I am kind of freaking out at the lack of snark in his voice, its creepy.

“Do you think it has something to do with these letters?” Luna’s voice drifts over to us through the open door.

“What letters Luna? There are no letters out there.” Ginny says.

“Why yes there are. There are five, one for each of us. They have our names on them.” We all run out to the common room and stare at the five bulging envelopes. I reach for mine and sit with it in a comfy purple armchair. Inside there are three different sheets of paper all folded nicely to fit.

The first reads…

To Miss. Hermione Granger,

We are proud to welcome you to Drakaina House. Since there are so few students in your house it is not necessary to pick prefects. As you must now know your house is for the brave, the smart, the kind and the secretive. All of you in your house have several personality traits that if put into any other house would cause much conflict.

History of Drakaina. Aniline Drakaina is the sister of Merlin and said to hold his heart. She was born twenty years after Merlin to a different mother and was raised by her brother. Both siblings had immeasurable power but unlike Merlin, Aniline never learned to control hers, which lead to her untimely demise at the age of eighteen.

House of Drakaina. House colours are Indigo and Platinum. House animal is a small dragon like reptile also named Drakaina. They are often mistaken for both dragons and mermaids though are very different. Your house ghost will be Aniline and your head of house is Professor Tonks.

If you have any other questions please come see me in my office.  
Professor McGonagall.

 

The second reads…

Courses for seventh and eighth year students.

Mandatory-  
Defense Against the Dark Arts  
Transfiguration  
Potions  
Muggle Studies  
Herbology (Seventh only)  
Charms (Seventh only)

Electives-  
History of Magic  
Ancient Runes  
Care of Magical Creatures  
Divination  
Alchemy  
Astronomy

Extra-Curricular Subjects-  
Ancient studies  
Art  
Earth Magic  
Muggle Art  
Music  
Muggle Music  
Ghoul Studies  
Magical Theory  
Xylomancy  
Frog Choir  
Hogwarts Orchestra

Muggle Studies – this course is required of all seventh and eighth year students and will be further explained by Professor Tonks.

The final note reads…

Miss. Hermione Granger

Course calendar for eighth year.

Monday – Muggle Studies, Muggle Studies, DADA, Transfiguration, Lunch, Independent studies

Tuesday – Muggle Studies, Transfiguration, Potions, Potions, Lunch, Independent studies

Wednesday – Muggle Studies, DADA, DADA, Potions, Lunch, Independent studies

Thursday – Muggle Studies, Transfiguration, Transfiguration, Potions, Lunch, Independent studies

Friday – Muggle Studies, Muggle Studies, DADA, DADA, Lunch, Independent studies

Muggle Studies with Professor Tonks and Gryffindor  
DADA with Professor Krum and Slytherin  
Potions with Professor Slughorn and Hufflepuff  
Transfiguration with Professor Quigley and Ravenclaw  
Independent Study within own house

Breakfast: 7:30 – 8:25 am  
First Period: 8:30 – 9:25 am  
Second Period: 9:30 – 10:25 am  
Third Period: 10:30 – 11:25 am  
Forth Period: 11:30 – 12:25 pm  
Lunch: 12:30 – 1:25 pm  
Fifth Period: 1:30 – 2:25 pm  
Sixth Period: 2:30 – 3:30 pm  
Supper: 5:30 – 7 pm

They are really stressing Muggle studies this year, I wonder why. I look up from reading my notes and see that all the others aside from Malfoy are still reading. He hands me his schedule and I scan it next to mine. They are identical. I guess that is to be expected as we are in the same small house. The others finish reading theirs and we all compare. The only person with a different schedule is Ginny and she just has one extra class a day. Instead of two periods of independent study she has charms and herbology alternating in the first slot after lunch.

“Well, I am going to go to bed now.” Luna says, getting up and walking into her room. Harry and Ginny say about the same thing a few minutes later and walk into their room leaving Malfoy and I in our chairs.

“We should figure out whose room is whose.” Malfoy says in his new voice. I nod and head into the room with purple drapes and look around. The door on the left wall goes into a closet, which is empty. There are no personal items anywhere in the room, which doesn’t help. The door on the right leads to a large bathroom with two sinks and singles of everything else. Through the door across from the one leading to the purple room is the room with silver drapes. Malfoy is standing in the middle of the room staring at something on the bed. There seems to be a change of clothes sitting there folded nicely. 

“What the bloody hell are you doing Malfoy!” I scream when I notice what he is staring at. It is my clothes on the bed and on that pile, right on top, is my favorite set of pitch black, lacy, under things. He jumps and quickly walks into the other room where I assume his clothes now rest on the bed. I snatch up the pile and set it on one of the tables beside my bed. I can’t believe he saw my underthings. Still fuming I strip and slip into my nightclothes. The clothes I was wearing disappear when I take them off and my robes hang themselves on a hook in my closet. I do all of my nighttime things in the bathroom after carefully checking to make sure Malfoy isn’t using it and get into the bed. It is surprisingly comfortable and I am fast asleep in minutes.

“WHAT DID YOU TAKE YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD!!” she screams.

“Nothing! Nothing! I promise.” I wail. I can see the room; the large chandelier, the high regal windows, the dark wood and all the laughing faces. All laughing at me, at my pain, at my withering form upon the floor.

“YOU LIE! WHAT DID YOU TAKE!?” She screams again.

“Nothing. Please. I took nothing.” I wail. Then something different happens. My awareness drifts up above my body and I am free to look around the room. I can still feel the blade of the knife carving into my flesh over and over but it as though there is a wall between me and what my body I feeling.

“I don’t believe you.” she hisses and digs the blade of her knife into my arm again. My body screams, and screams, and screams. I walk around, looking at all the cheering faces. I study each and every one. I go down the line watching them, seeing if they felt anything at all aside from glee. Nothing, I see nothing that gives me hope. Then I find him, he is standing there in the corner behind his mummy. He looks horrified. I watch him every time Bellatrix screams at me he flinches, every time I jerked he would too. Fascinated I continue watching him for a while but then I am pulled back into my body and all the pain that had been numbed comes crashing down on me. Bellatrix keeps carving and slashing, the ugly word almost complete. Then she turns into Draco. For a while he keeps carving up my arm but then he suddenly stops.

“Granger. Wake up. Wake up Hermione.” I jump awake and immediately lash out at the person shaking me awake. I strike them across the face and they fall back. I scrabble to the other side of the bed and break down into tears.

“Granger…” he trails slowly walking around the bed to me. Curling into a ball to protect myself I continue crying. He comes over to where I am and sits on the bed beside me. “Hermione…” he starts again, reaching for me. I flinch away from and he stills momentarily before placing his hand on my back. When I don’t move away he pulls me, still curled up, onto his lap. “Hush. Hush.” He says a little awkwardly. He holds me until I clam down and even a little after that. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asks gently with more emotion in his voice then I have heard the entire day.

“It was that day at your house after the snatchers brought us in. When Bellatrix was torturing me.” I say quietly turning my arm over to look at the scar there. I have been dealing with the nightmares for the last while by my self and it is nice to have someone else. Even if it is the person who made my life hell for the last seven years.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop her. I wanted to but the dark lord would have killed my family and I. Please forgive me.” He begs quietly while examining my scar. I don’t answer him. I don’t know what I think. I haven’t let anyone in in so long that I don’t know if I know how to any more. He doesn’t push me, he just lets me be near him and for now that is enough. After a while he scoots back on the bed and pulls the covers over us both.

“Why were you awake, Malfoy?” I ask quietly.

“Couldn’t sleep.” He replies, shrugging, “Go to sleep.” 

I had noticed earlier that he had the tell tale circles of nightmares under his eyes, but I didn’t think that they would be keeping him awake like that. Sighing I press myself into my bed and curl up under his arm. I fall asleep in seconds.


	2. Chapter 2

I wake up to Ginny shaking me. “We have half an hour till breakfast starts. I thought you might want to get ready.”

“Thanks.” I reply, swinging my legs over the edge of my bed. After Ginny leaves I look over at the other side of the bed. The only thing giving away that another person slept in here with me is the soft indent of a head on the other pillow. Sighing, I gather my clothes and wand and walk to the door to the bathroom remembering at the last moment to nock.

“Come in.” I hear from the bathroom. I walk in cautiously. Draco is standing at his side of the counter wearing school pants but no shirt. I can’t help but to stare. He is thin yes, but every inch of him is muscle, though not ridiculously defined I can easily see that he hasn’t had an easy life. “See something you like?”

I stick my nose in the air and don’t answer his question. “I just wanted to say thank you, for last night that is. And I’m sorry for hitting you.” I glance up at him in the mirror above the sinks and catch him looking at me with a strange look on his face.

“Don’t mention it.” He replies after shaking himself out of whatever thought he was lost in. He takes a few minutes more then I lock the door behind him. I shower and get dressed and am back in the common room in less then twenty minutes. The other four are waiting for me and we all walk down to the dining hall. On our way down the ghost of Aniline joins us.

“Hello” she says.

“Hello Miss. Aniline. How are you today?” Luna asks the pretty girl.

“I am well Luna and you may all call me just Aniline.” She says.

“Um, Aniline, why are you walking?” Harry asks. I had been wondering the same thing but thought it would be rude to ask.

“It is because I was a necromancer in my life. That makes me very powerful in death. I can do many things other ghosts can’t do.” she replies.

“Like what? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” Malfoy asks.

“Well, I still have some of my magic. I can change what I am wearing; I am not stuck in the horrid dress I was in when I died. I have power over other ghosts. And I can tell when other witches or wizards have extra powers, especially if they are necromancers.” Aniline lists off on her fingers. “Oh yeah, I can look solid and touch living things too.”

“That is so cool!” Ginny says. “Will you be coming to classes with us? You look to be about our age and it would be fun.”

“I may. I know most everything already though.” she replies. We reach the dining hall and walk in to our own little table. Everyone in the hall is staring at us. We sit at our now shorter table and food appears on the treys in front of us. Harry and Ginny both have normal meals of eggs and ham and Luna gets some fruit salad atop yogurt. But neither Malfoy nor I eat much at all. I have a piece of toast with jelly and he has a nice green apple. Its not like I am not eating on purpose, I’m just never hungry. I talk a bit to Aniline and discover that we have much in common. We both share a love of learning and just reading in general as well as having strong protective instincts and a tendency towards taking care of others before ourselves. 

When the others finish eating we head to the Muggle Studies classroom and sit together in a small lump. Harry and Ginny share a desk and Luna and Aniline share the one to their left so Malfoy and I take the one behind them. The two pairs in front of us sit talking until class starts but Malfoy and I do not. Instead he takes out a personal notebook and starts drawing while I take out my book. Every so often as I read I see him looking over at me then fixing something on his drawing. I look over at him when he isn’t studying me and watch him draw. He skill level is amazing. He seems to be drawing me reading and I am quite flattered but also a little creped out. He had to have been looking at me very closely to have the detail he does.

Finally the entirety of the two years is here and Professor Tonks walks up to the desk in front of the class. “Hello Ladies and Gentlemen.”

“Hello Professor Tonks.” The class said as one. I can see some of the students do a double take upon seeing out new professor. She looks almost exactly her sister Bellatrix. There are some differences, she has lighter hair and a softer face and seems to have a little more flesh on her bones.

“She’s your aunt isn’t she? Your mothers sister.” I whisper through my teeth at Malfoy.

“Yeah. Though I haven’t really grown up with her.” He whispers back.

“There is no need to call me Professor Tonks. We are all adults. You may call me Andromeda.” She takes out her wand and waves it over a pile of papers on her desk they fly over to our desks and land in front of us. In the paper is a synopsis of the course. “Now I know you all can read but I am required to run over this material with you so here we go. Ok, first off welcome everyone to the new Muggle Studies. This course is mandatory for all seventh and eighth year students and in theory will help prevent the future mistreatment of muggles. For the duration of the year all of you will be living as a one side of a married muggle couple. You will have to learn to survive in the muggle world without magic. Your classes will be your jobs and the points you receive in those classes will pay for your food and domestic products. Now before I continue are there any questions?” 

A seventh year girl I don’t know raises her hand. “Um… how will our partners be chosen?”

“Your partners will be chosen via a pairing charm that I will be casting on you. If you will all follow me we will continue in a moment. Please bring your things.” Andromeda walks out of the door and we all scramble to follow her. Aniline says that she is going to stay in the castle for now and that we should go on. 

Andromeda leads us out of the school and to a new addition to the grounds. Behind the school between the black lake and the Quidditch pitch is a small community of houses. They must have been concealed last night. There appear to be about forty houses each two stories set along a nice walking lane with a reasonable sized yard around each, all separated by a white picket fence. At the end of the lane closest to the school is a park and a meeting house with what looks like a glassed off swimming area where Andromeda seems to be leading and at the other end is a slightly larger house with a bigger yard and garden as well as a play set in the back.

In the meeting house we sit in the provided chairs and Andromeda continues her lesson. “Before we start I would like to pair you all up. Now there will be no changing partners and I would appreciate you all handling this like adults. After the spell concludes please stand up and move to sit with your partner.” 

Andromeda casts the pairing spell over the meeting room and almost instantaneously I feel a tug on my hand following the tug I don’t have to walk more then a few feet to find my partner. It’s Malfoy. Of course it is. Its not like I didn’t see this happening. I just wish I could have been a single parent or something. The spell concludes and we all sit down next to our partners. “To start the big house at the end is for the leaders of the community, which happen to be the head boy and girl. First pairing, Miss. Granger and Mr. Malfoy. You will be heads of this community and duties will be those of leadership in this mock society.” Harry looks up sharply and I see Malfoy stiffen beside me and smile to myself. “Next pair, Miss. Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom, Miss. Weasley and Mr. Potter.” Andromeda keeps assigning different partnerships their houses and I am starting to notice that a lot of couples have been kept together.

“Now. All of you please listen. As I have previously stated, during this time you will live as muggles do. The homes have spells placed upon them so that no student can use magic while on the property’s what so ever. You must all have noticed that you will be having Muggle Studies everyday. The first half of the class will be progress check in. The last half will be informational; you will at that time do the paper work that comes with this course.”

“Miss. Andromeda, what are the points for?” Hannah Abbot asks.

“Good question. Each house will start with five hundred points as a sort of pillow and you will earn more as you go on. You can earn points in class and for every five house points you receive you get one point for this assignment. The points you earn in your classes will get you things like better quality food, health products, and any other things you may want to buy. Every house is stocked with enough food for one week but after that you will need to buy more of anything you run out of. You are not to get anything from the castle and are banned from the great hall for meals.” 

“Is that all we have to do? That doesn’t sound to hard.” Neville comments.

“Not quite, Mr. Longbottom. What you need to know next is that over the course of this year each couple will get to experience what it is to be a parent.”

“WHAT! No I can’t have a child, I’m not ready.” Ginny nearly screams. There are many mumbles of agreement from the assembled women. I had known it wouldn’t be that easy, that there had to be some twist.

“I suspect that there is a spell placed on our houses to simulate this situation.” Luna’s soft voice says from the back of the room. She is really such a smart girl.

“You are quite correct Miss. Lovegood. Timed charms are placed on your houses and other objects inside of them that will simulate conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. In there situations the women will be charmed as well making her look and feel as though there is a small life growing inside of her. The timetable will be slightly altered to allow for sufficient experience. The first month of this school year will be for settling in and conception. Thirty days after conception no mater what time will be the birth and your child will age one half year for every month after that. After your child’s three and a half birthday they will stop aging at an accelerated rate.”

“Um… will the birth hurt?” a small seventh year asks hesitantly.

“The charm was created to be as realistic as possible.” She replies.

“So, yes.” Luna says cheerfully. All of the girl quiet considerably at this and the boys look anywhere but at their partner. Smart but blunt she is.

“There are a few rules that you must all know and attempt to follow if this project is to run smoothly. First of all, there is to be no prejudice amongst the houses, in fact as of right now the only purpose your houses is to tell you what classes you are suppose to be in and to collect house points for the other students in those houses. Second, as both magical and physical fighting is prohibited within the community’s boundaries it is also forbidden any where else and any instances of these will be punished severely. Thirdly, you are expected to get along with your partner. There will be absolutely no reports of abuse either physical or verbal. Next, be kind with your words, please no name calling. The heads will decide the punishment for these offences. And finally if you fail this class you will not graduate. That is all. Drakaina and Gryffindor, you have the rest of this double period to look about the neighborhood and get to know your partner. The rest of you head off to your next class. The details of the class are on the sheet of paper I passed out to you before.”

“Where will you be staying Aunt Andromeda?” Draco asks.

“There is a back part to this meeting house where I will be living until you all get settled and then in the castle. Questions?” she asks.

“Is Malfoy really your nephew?” a seventh year boy asks.

“That’s not what I meant but yes he is. Move on. Anything else? No? Good. You are dismissed.” She turned to the back door then quickly spun around. “Oh, I almost forgot. You are required to wear muggle clothing at all times. That’s it. Now you can go. Draco and Hermione please stay back a few moments.”

The other students turn to leave the Rec house and walked into their respective homes. “Is there something you want to talk to us about Auntie?” Malfoy asks his aunt.

“Yes as heads of this mock community it is up to the pair of you to settle matters of lesser importance. Any situations of violence still have to be taken to the professors but lesser mishaps such as the house prejudice and vocal attacks have to be dealt with by the pair of you. You may fine couples for lesser crimes and if some students receive a detention they will not get any points for the day of the detention. The fines should not exceed five hundred points and detentions should not be scheduled more then twice a week. All punishments will be placed upon both students in the partnership. I expect you to respect this power and not be biased in your decisions. That is all.” Andromeda 

“Thank you Mrs. Tonks.” I reply bowing my head a bit.

“Auntie.” Malfoy nods respectfully.

“We have an hour and a half before our next class starts. What do you want to do?” Malfoy asks me as we walk to the big house on the end of the street.

“I don’t know, Malfoy, whatever you want is fine.”

“We should take inventory of the things we have and what we will need more of the fastest. And please call me Draco. We should at least try to be friends.” He says in his tired voice.

“Only if you call me Hermione, I agree we should be friends. And that is a good idea.” It takes a bit to reach our house, as there are twenty houses down each side of the street and each have a sizeable yard. Mal- Draco and I talk as we walk, mostly about trivial things and I am surprised at the level of tolerance I have for him. Recently I can hardly stand to be around people, but it is different with him. He makes me think in ways that I haven’t had to in a long time. It is refreshing.

When we get to the house we open it up and explore a bit starting on the first floor. The entire house is very open, I can see the entire first floor from my place at the front door except for a medium sized area to the right of the door where I assume the closet and bathroom are. The next floor seems to be held up by sporadically placed pillars. The area closest to the door on the left appears to be a sitting room and within it there are several couches and chairs as well as a tall book case that holds both magical and muggle books. I firmly decide that I am going to explore my new library later as we move into the adjoining kitchen and dining room, which fall along the back wall of the house. The kitchen is very modern and there is a huge counter space that will make cooking much easier as well as a small table that we would use on a daily basis. The dining room has a long table set with about ten chairs there is a large china cabinet that I assume holds the good china and place settings. I was correct in assuming that the walled off rooms were a closet and bathroom.

“Nice house, all of this furniture is of the very best quality. We should check the fridge and pantry.” Draco comments from where he is examining the content of the large bookshelves. I move into the kitchen, skirting several large pillars as I do so and swing open the doors of the fridge.

“It looks like we have about a weeks worth of perishable food just as your aunt said. Two loaves of bread one white and the other brown, peppers, carrots, lettuce, other salad makings, a few different cheeses, raw chicken, fish, and beef, milk, orange juice, eggs, garlic, other spices and herbs, cream, butter. All the normal things that we would need. Can you check the cupboards I cant quite reach them.” I ask.

“Of course. Sugar, flour, coco, baking powder and soda in this one, oil, and different vinegars in the next, spices in the third, baking things and sweets in the next and dishes in the last.” Draco informs me.

“Excellent, I found the cleaning supplies under the sink both here and in the bathroom. We should check up stairs.” I find the staircase on the outside of the bathroom wall and venture up. The stairway leads to a short, wide hallway with four doors leading off of it, two on the right, one on the left and one at the end of the hall. The first door on the right opens into a walk in linen closet filled with sheets and towels and the like. The next door on the right leads to a large bathroom painted a light purple with white trim and black tile floors. It has separate bath and shower and a partitioned off portion where I assume the toilet is. There is a large mirror hung on the wall over the sink with several lights placed over it. Exiting the bathroom Draco walk into the room across the hall from it. It appears to be a bedroom though it is completely empty at the moment. I assume that this is to be the spell baby’s room. 

“That last door must lead to our rooms then.” Draco says. I nod and walk over to the last door. Opening it I find an almost exact replica of our room though the colors are all different. Instead of indigo and platinum and black the walls are soft silver and the floors are of light wood. The bed is dressed in light purple sheets and blankets and the pillows are the same lavenderish color. The posts and head and footboards are all made of platinum still though the hangings are the same light purple as the drapes that are, at the moment, held open by darker sashes embroidered with silver threads. Through the door that was to my closet in the castle we find that it is now separated like Harry and Gins with my clothes on the right and his on the left. The bathroom is identical to Harry and Ginny’s as well though it carries our new color scheme. There are cleaning supplies under our sinks as well and my make up and other products seem to have found there way into a cubby under my sink. Draco checks to see if his things have appeared as well and he gives a satisfied nod upon finding everything in place.

“It looks like we are supposed to stay in the same room.” Draco says hesitantly.

“I guess so. Do you mind terribly? We should change into our muggle clothes.”

“I don’t mind if you don’t.” he replies.

“Not worried about sharing with a filthy mudblood like me?” I remark snidely.

“Please don’t. I thought we were going to try to be friends. I really am trying to change and I regret what I did to you in the past. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me.” He pleads.

“I will eventually. I can tell that you are different though I don’t know why or how you changed and I am willing to help you adapt to this new persona that seems to have taken over. I will be your friend if you want.” I say smiling a bit at the ground.

“Thanks, I’ll take the bathroom.” Draco walks into the closet to grab his change and then into the bathroom. I decide on black leggings and a cream knit sweater about three sizes to big over a dark blue tank and my black riding boots. I quickly put my hair up in a messy bun, leaving a few curls down, and stick my wand in it for lack of a better place. Draco comes out of the bathroom in light khaki pants and a dark blue button down long sleeve. He gives me a quick once over and nods to himself.

“We should head back to the school.” He says nervously twirling his wand in his fingers. I nod and head outside after grabbing my shoulder bag in which I carry my quills and parchment. 

“Can I put my things in your bag?” Draco asks me. I nod and he shoves his notebook and things into the bag. Making our way down stairs I notice that there are now two little jewel boxes sitting on the table. 

“Do you know what is in them?” I ask more to the air then to Draco. 

“I have my suspicions.” He replies. I do to but I’m not sure if I want to be right. Picking up one of the boxes I flip the lid open and my heart nearly stops. Inside is one of the most intricate and beautiful rings I have ever seen. It is made up multiple thin bands of what appears to be platinum all woven together holding a small indigo stone in place. I take the ring out of the case and place it in the middle of my palm.

“I think these are yours.” I hear from beside me. Looking at Draco I notice that he hasn’t taken the rings in his box out of the case. Nestled inside are two tiny bands that when put together would be about the same width as the band I am holding, maybe a bit thinner. The platinum rings look like tiny vines woven together loosely the first has the same small purple stone set in it but the second holds the most beautiful diamond I have ever seen. It is no bigger then a new babies pinky fingernail but it is cut in a way that makes it look like it is radiating light.

“Here give me your hand” Draco asks gently. I set his ring down on the table and hold out my left hand for him. He gently takes it in his right and slips the two tiny things onto my ring finger. They fit perfectly and settle so that I can barely feel them if I am not paying attention.

“They are so beautiful,” I breathe, “though I think green would go better with this metal.”

“You would do that?” Draco exclaims.

“I said I would try to be your friend did I not. And besides I really do like the color green.” As soon as I finish reassuring him the small indigo stones turn a clear green color that when in the right light sparkles. Draco slips his ring onto his finger and we walk to the front door just admiring our new accessories.

Opening the front door we meet Harry and Ginny whom are standing on our stoop, just about to nock.

“We were coming to see if you wanted to walk up to the school with us.” Ginny says quietly. I nod and pull Draco out the door with me. Something has changed between us since last night and since our conversations this morning and the thing with the rings. I still don’t fully trust him but I don’t think he will try anything. Harry and Ginny give Draco a wide birth, which kind of makes me mad. Don’t they see that he has changed? I guess maybe not since they didn’t notice when I changed either. 

“Did you two get your rings?” I ask the Potter pair. Harry looks at my quizzically while Gin glances at my left hand.

“Merlin we have to wear rings as well? Let me see yours.” Ginny gushes. She pulls my hand up to her face and studies my rings closely. “They are very pretty though I would have picked a different color stone for the wedding band. Come on lets go see if Harry and mine are at our house.”

“What’s wrong with the color Ginerva?” I bristle as she attempts to pull me back to her house.

“Well, it’s their color. I’m just wondering why you agreed to wear it.” She shoots back almost snottily. Stowing my seething thoughts I follow the silly little girl back to her house. Harry hurries along beside his witch but I have to actually grab Draco’s hand to get him to follow.

“You two wait here. We will be out in a minute.” Ginny commands. Draco and I stand awkwardly outside their house for a few moments till the happy pair reemerge hand in hand now sporting two plain gold bands. Ginny has another ring still gold but slightly thinner which has a rather large diamond in it. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Ginny sighs. I assure her that it is perfect though I would never be caught dead with such a large stone on my finger. It just doesn’t go with my personality.

We walked back towards the castle and are soon joined by Luna and Neville. “Neville is going to be in our classes with us since he is my partner. Isn’t that great!” Luna spouts.

“Yeah, that’s brilliant.” Harry says. He and Ginny walk hand in hand the same way Luna and Neville do. I walk close to Draco but we don’t touch. 

“Did all of you get rings too?” Neville asks holding his left hand awkwardly at his side.

“Yeah, mine and Gin’s are gold and she has a large diamond in her engagement ring.” Harry explains.

“Here” I say simply holding out my hand for Luna’s inspection. She grasps it gently in her own hands and I catch a glimpse of their rings. Her engagement ring seems to be made of white gold and has a soft looking yellow stone set in it and the wedding band is simple white gold as well.

“Oh! Your rings are absolutely stunning. The white, platinum and green all go together so well and the vines of your two rings, Hermione, lock together to keep them from moving around.” Luna spouts. I see Ginny pout and wave her hand in front of Luna’s face trying to get the same level of praise for her own ring.

“Come on, we are going to be late.” Draco whispers at me from his spot close behind my right shoulder, I nod and hurry our group along.

When we get up to the castle we all walk to the DADA classroom and sit in a group. The Slytherins walk in a moment later and hiss insults and threats at us. Some of them threaten to kill us while others attempt to curse us. After about five minutes of this Harry and I draw up a magical barrier between our sides of the classroom. The new teacher walks in as soon as the class period starts and introduces himself as Professor Krum.

“Any relation to Viktor Krum sir?” asks a Slytherin girl.

“Yes. He is my younger brother.” So that’s why he looked familiar. “Now no more questions. We are here to learn about the dark arts are we not? Who here knows the patronus charm?” professor Krum asks in a very American sounding accent. Neville, Luna, Harry, Ginny and I raise our hands. “You. Show us. If you can do it silently you get twice as many points for your Muggle Studies assignment.” He says pointing at me.

I stand, clear my mind and focus on one of my favorite memories. It is when Dumbledore awarded me extra point for beating the devil’s snare in first year. I take my wand out of my hair and very clearly in my mind, while holding onto my memory of course, say “Expecto Patronum”. I open my eyes to see my little otter scampering around the room.

“Wonderful job Miss…” he trails.

“Granger, Sir, and thank you.” I say

“Fifty points to Malfoy house. And you may let the spell go now.” He continues on with his lecture. The Slytherins look very angry about the whole points thing and none of them can answer any questions. By the end of the class Draco and I have collected one hundred and twenty five points, Harry and Ginny ninety, and Luna and Neville eighty five. For answering all the questions in class Drakaina house earns fifty points and Gryffindor ten. 

In our next class, Transfiguration, we are asked to transform five crystal goblets full of water into a single pitcher full of water without spilling a single drop all in twenty minutes. The new transfiguration teacher doesn’t tell us how to preform the task but allows us to work with our partner, which makes the task ridiculously easy. Draco and I work well together and finish in a matter of minutes. I hold the water suspended in the air while he first transforms the five small goblets into one bigger one and then into a beautifully ornate pitcher. I then lower the water into the new container. Professor Quigley comes over to us and gives us one hundred points for finishing first and another fifty for only using four different spells. He then asks us to take the pitcher up to his desk and that he was going to keep it as an example of taking pride in ones work. I walk the beautiful thing up to the desk and set it down carefully as not to break the thin material.

When I get back to our workstation I see Draco scribbling in his notebook again. “What are you doing Draco?” I ask him. He shows me his notebook. He has made a neat and tidy chart for keeping track of points. In the first column is todays date and our total points for the day is in the next. The third column is empty and is labeled expenses. The last column has house points written above it and a 20 on the first line. “That is brilliant. You forgot the five hundred that we start with though.” He adds another vertical row and writes Pillow above it and on the line beside the twenty he writes 500.

“Better?” he asks somewhat jokingly. 

“Much.” I say honestly. “Do we really already have 275 points?” 

He nods and says, “We are doing very well. The other four don’t have even half the points we do.”

“I hope they are keeping track.” I say almost to myself. We’ve been finished working for ten minutes and nobody is even close to finishing their work.

“Come on people! Miss. Granger and Mr. Malfoy have been finished for ten minutes. This isn’t all that hard. You have five more minutes.” Professor Quigley says sounding slightly exasperated. Everyone starts hurrying and the sound of water hitting the floor echo’s all around us accompanied by the tinkling of shattered crystal. “Time.” The professor calls and everyone ceases their spells. “Granger, Malfoy, please come up here.” Quigley demands. He is very annoyed now. “All but two of you failed to preform the task set before you and it was mostly due to miscommunication. I would like you to see how to do this properly. If you would please say your spells out loud. Thank you.”

He has five goblets full of water appear on the presentation table in front of his desk and motions for Draco and I to stand facing the class. Draco nods to me and I start the process.

“Arida Ascendo” (water ascend) I say taking the water out of the goblets.

Then Draco says his part. “Quinque Calicis Factus sum Unus. Muto In Formosa Hyalus Amphorae” (Five goblets become one. Change into beautiful glass pitcher) the goblets form one large cup then change into another pitcher, this one simpler then the first but still beautiful.

I then lower the water into the pitcher saying, “Arida Delabi” (water descend) the whole process takes less then five minutes. The class claps and looks on in awe

“Wonderful work you two. Twenty points to your house and thirty to Drakaina. And wonder full job controlling you magic perfectly Mr. Malfoy, this truly is a beautiful pitcher. You and Miss. Granger may take it if you wish.” Professor Quigley is in high spirits yet again.

“Do you want it Hermione?” Draco asks quietly and I nod, quickly evaporating the water so we can carry it easier. We sit back down in our seats and the Professor continues.

“We are going to try this again. Twenty more minutes.” He waves his wand over the classroom and new supplies appear on the work spaces. Everyone starts again, this time having more success. Draco records our new points and closes his notebook.

“Nearly three hundred points already and fifty to the house.” He says sounding excited.

“If we convert the house points into Muggle Studies points we have… three hundred and five points.” I add. He nods and smiles to himself. We are going to succeed in this mock life if we continue at this rate.

Over the course of the twenty minutes five of the ten other pairs in this class complete the task earning their respective house ten points as a pair and five points each for the Muggle Studies assignment.

Then it is time for lunch. Our little group heads back down to our houses part ways. As I look around our neighborhood I notice that there are a few empty houses on the street. I would have thought that the school would know how many houses we would need but I guess they could be used as guest houses.

I hadn’t noticed before but when we are assigned to houses a little sign appears above the door of those houses stating the last name of the male inhabitant. Ours said Malfoy house. I looked down the street and to our left is Potter house, to the right Longbottom house, Boot house, Corner house and Weasley house beyond those. I had momentarily forgotten that Ron transferred into Hufflepuff.

“Are you coming in Hermione?” Draco calls from the door to our house.

“Yes, yes dear I’ll be right there.” I say absentmindedly. I turn to walk into our house and nearly fall into Draco. I didn’t expect him to wait in the door for me. Luckily he catches me and we don’t fall over. “Sorry.”

“No problem. Lets go eat.” Draco says as he grabs my hand and pulls me into the kitchen. “What do you want?” he asks.

“You cook?”

“Of course I do. What do you want?” he insists.

“Grilled cheese.” I say with my first real smile in weeks.

“Ok then, Grilled cheese it is. Could you get the cheese out while I cut the bread please.” I nod and go hunting in the fridge. In the second to the bottom drawer I find several different kinds of cheese ranging from regular orange cheddar to smoked gouda and brie. I grab the cheddar and set it on the cutting board next to the nice white loaf Draco is cutting. “Hermione, do you know if we have butter of olive oil?”

“Both, which do you prefer?” I reply.

“Butter makes the bread crispier so that I think. Butter please.” I retrieve the desired item and hand it to him. Draco spreads the creamy stuff on one side of the slices and sets them in a frying pan he had heated on the stove. He then proceeds to cut the cheese into thin slices and lay them over two of the pieces in the pan. Flipping the bread slice without cheese on top of the one with cheese he browns the bread and when they are ready places them back on the cutting board to cut them in half, then onto plates and onto the small table. Turning off the stove and setting the pan on a cool burner Draco walks over and sits across from me at our table.

“Go on try it.” He pushes. I take a small bite and nearly moan. It is the best grilled cheese I have had in my life and I tell him as much. “Why thank you.” He pretends to take a bow and I gently applaud him. We finish our sandwiches though I only eat half of mine and he steals the other half and clean up our mess and still have twenty minutes till the end of lunch period.

“Should we go visit Potter and Ginny?” Draco asks me.

“I would like that.” I reply. We get our shoes and walk over to Harry’s house after locking up our own. On the sign above their door I see four small names written across the bottom and when we step onto their porch our names pop up. “That is very interesting.” I say to Draco as he nocks. He nods just as Harry opens up the door.

“Hello ‘Mione, Malfoy.” He says curtly.

“Be nice Harry.” I hiss at him. His eyes widen momentarily behind his glasses but then return to normal when Ginny walks out from behind him.

“Hello you two. Would you like to come in?” she asks brightly.

“Yes that would be wonderful. Thank you Ginny.” I reply. Harry steps back and allows us entry. Ginny leads us to her sitting room where Neville and Luna are sitting on a love seat and motions for us to take the other. Harry sits in in an overlarge armchair and Ginny sits tucked snuggly beside him. “Do you all know what independent study is for?”

“Yes. It said on the sheet Andromeda gave us that we can use the time to do homework and learn how to keep a house. We are allowed to visit with others during this time as well so long as we are in the village or castle common rooms or library.” Luna says softly. Neville nods along with her statement.

“Well we only have that one role of parchment essay about the importance of being able to cast a fully formed Patronus from DADA today, Draco, so we are pretty much free.” I say flatly.

“I have to write that Hermione not you.” Draco reminds me in a whisper, I acknowledge him with a small nod.

“Not quite, tonight at six thirty there is a meeting in the Rec house to discuss how our first day went. All the students will be there instead of just our group and the Gryffindor’s. And I have one more class today.” Ginny says from her seat beside Harry.

“That still gives us a lot of time to kill. Should we meet back here after we finish everything?” Neville asks. Harry and Ginny nod and I look up at Draco’s face trying to read him.

“I would like to have one day to ourselves if that’s ok with you Hermione.” He says into my hair. 

I nod and say, “ I think we will have to pass for today. Sorry. But we will definitely try to meat up with you before the meeting.

“Alright then. Are you leaving right away?” Harry asks.

Draco nods and says, “I think so, unless Hermione wants otherwise.”

“No that’s fine. I guess we will see you all later then.” I reply. We all say our goodbyes and Draco and I walk back to our house. We step inside just as lunch is ending. “The Slytherins and Ravenclaws will be down shortly I assume.”

“I believe you are correct.” Draco replies. “I should do my essay now.”

“Do you want help?” I ask.

“No I should be done in about ten minutes, then I’ll help you clean the house.” 

“Alright. Do you need your things? I think they are still in my bag.”

“If you wouldn’t mind getting them that would be great.” I fetched my bag from the front door and handed it to him. “Thank you.” he smiles.

As he is working I watch him. He is different, he isn’t cocky, he isn’t rude, and he isn’t who he used to be. He grew up. For once I see, instead of all the horrible things he has done to us in the past, all the wonderful things he could do in the future.

“Hermione, why are you staring at me?” he asks still looking at his paper.

“I wasn’t staring.” I protest.

“Yes you were. I could feel it.” He says chuckling, I pout in my chair and continue staring just to annoy him. “All right, all right I’m done. Now how do I clean a house?”

“So you can cook but you cannot clean?” I ask incredusiously. 

“I use magic to clean Hermione.” Draco explains. 

“That is kind of pathetic. Come on, I’ll show you.” I walk over to the nook under the stairs and pull out the vacuum and duster and bring them over to the family room. I hook the vacuum up to the central vac and show Draco how to turn it on. Then he just has to run it around the room. Being the fast learner that he is it only took him a few minutes to realize that the dirt doesn’t just disappear and that we will eventually have to empty the storage container.

After vacuuming the entire first level, which only took thirty minutes after Draco figured out the mechanics of it all as the entire house has hardwood floors, I showed Draco how to dust. He says that he likes the vacuum better as it is more interesting. Dusting, he said, was a job that was time consuming and easy making it horrendous and utterly depressing. I just laughed at him and told him it was this or cleaning toilets. He shut up after that. I did show him how to clean the bathroom and kitchen though. He thought it was funny that the large rubber gloves kept slipping off my hands. Then it was time for the laundry, though we didn’t have enough to put a lode through I showed him how to get the machine running. By this time we were well into sixth hour and we decided to take a break.

“We have to do all of this every day!” he exclaims. 

“Not every day, but at least once a week. We should actually figure out a schedule. Do you have your notebook with the points in it here?”

“Yeah, its right here.” He said pulling it out. 

“We need to keep track of everything for the first few months. We should get a new notebook. I think I saw one in the desk in our room upstairs. I’ll just go and get it.” I run up stairs and grab the spiral bound notebook and a pencil. Parchment and quills are great and all it is just easier to use these for organizational purposes. I run back down stairs and write Muggle Studies on the cover of the notebook.

“Do you want me to copy the chart into this new book?” Draco asks.

“Yes, on the second or third page, that would be great and if you could put pillow before house points for organizational purposes that would be great.” He finishes the chart quickly and hands me the notebook on the first page I write down the timetable for our course…

Month 1 – Settling in and conception charm  
30 days after pregnancy charm takes effect charm child will be born  
Child will age one half year for every month after birth 

I stare at the new list. I was only going to have my baby for eight months before it disappeared for good.

“Oh, Merlin. I’m not sure I can do this.” I wail. Draco rushes over to me and pulls me tightly to his chest as I cry.

“I know, it’s cruel. I know.” He soothes. We stand like this for a long time. After I am ok to go on I quickly flip the page over so I don’t start off again. 

“Ok, so now for the weekly schedule. I think Monday should be vacuum, Tuesday dusting, Wednesday the wash, Thursday bathrooms, Friday kitchens, and then Saturday the wash again and bedrooms.” I say still sniffing and wiping a stray tear now and then.

“What about Sunday?” he asks, coming to stand beside me.

“Sunday fun day. No chores on Sunday.” I reply.

“All right. That sounds acceptable. And we can trade off cooking and the daily stuff right?” he asks hopefully.

“Of course. And I am hoping that the time for shopping will be on either Saturday of Sunday.”

“That all makes sense. Can you think of anything else we need to do for right now?” I ponder over his question.

“I don’t think so, but we can always add more to the lists if we need to. We should look over the paper your aunt gave us. Mine is in my bag.” I grab the piece of paper out of my bag and set it on the table.

“The first part is all the stuff Andromeda told us, just an intro. Lets see, housing, points, daily schedule, and charms. I think we have housing and points down, I would like to know more about the schedule and charms though.”

“Do you want me to read it aloud?” Draco asks. I nod and he starts. 

“Anti Magic Charm. The anti magic charm placed over the entire village makes it imposable for any student to use magic while within the village boundaries. It also acts as a security system all students acting upon violent impulses will be immediately petrified and the professors notified. Another thing on the security system, no other student can enter your house when you aren’t home or if neither occupant wants that individual in his or her house. That’s good that means that the Slytherins won’t be able to hurt us.  
Conception Charm. This charm is designed to make students think and feel as if they are fornicating. Both partners must be in the master bed for the charm to take effect. The charm is designed to play off the preexisting emotions of the participants. A pregnancy charm was placed upon the woman in the partner ship as soon as she entered the house, which the consummation charm will activate when all the conditions in the woman’s body are optimal. A physical test will be preformed in the second day Muggle studies class to determine weather or not the woman is healthy enough for the pregnancy charm to take effect. A potion will be provided if conditions are not optimal which should return the body to homeostasis. The consummation charm will end once the pregnancy charm is in effect.  
Pregnancy charm. Placed upon the woman of the partnership. Will only take effect if the woman half of the partnership is physically sound. Mimics all the stages of pregnancy though greatly sped up. Every three and one third days equals one month of pregnancy. After the labor has finished the child charm will take effect.  
Child charm. After labor a baby will appear in the male half of the partnerships arms. The baby will mimic all the stages of development in a normal child and will age at the rate of one year per month and a half. The charm is engineered to combine the traits of both parents. The charm varies to and there is no way to control weather a boy or girl is conceived. Miscarriages are possible and if it is the fault of either the mother or father they will fail the course and not pass final year. It is very unlikely that a set of twins will be born but is could happen and there will be no exceptions made for extra children.”

He finishes to find me sniffling softly beside him again. “I can read the daily schedule section too if you want.” He asks softly.

“No I can do it.” I sniff and wipe my eyes.

“Daily Schedule. All classes are at the normal times and are mandatory. You may visit any other house during the day but must be back in your house by 8:30 pm during week and 9 pm on the weekends. Lights out at 9:45 pm everyday and the conception charm begins at 10 pm. You will be informed of changes to the schedule by Professor Tonks one week in advance.” 

“That’s reasonable I guess.” Draco says mulling over all the information we just received. “Do you have any questions for Auntie?”

“No, I don’t thing so. I know I am going to have to take that potion.” I say the last part to myself but Draco hears me.

“Why do you think that?” he asks.

“I just know it.” I sigh. I don’t know if I can tell him.

“Come sit in the family room with me. There are some things I need to explain to you.” Draco says pulling me up from my chair and into the small room adjacent to the kitchen. Wearily I follow him. He pulls me down onto a soft leather couch and starts talking. “You probably don’t trust me do you. I understand that. I wouldn’t trust me either, after all that I did to you I don’t know how you can even stand to look at me.”

“I don’t hate you Draco. I can see that you have changed. Its just that, well, I have too and right now I can’t let anyone in.” I try to explain to him.

“That is ok. But when you decide you can let someone in you can trust me. My mother disowned me. When my parents ran away from the last fight of the war I didn’t go with them. I had only become a death eater to please them and I had decided by that point that it was the worst decision of my life. After Potter killed the Dark Lord I tried to go back to Malfoy Manor but my father almost killed me. He said I was a disgrace to the Malfoy name and that I was no son of his. I have a little sister, you know. She is only seven and was kept away from the Dark Lord. I tried to take her with me but she screamed at me and sent me flying into a wall. That is what hurt the most. My parents had turned my baby sister against me. I left them then and went to find a place to live. I got a new vault at Gringotts and transferred enough money from my parents vault to have a comfortable life. Mt parents tried to get the money back but they hadn’t taken me off the list of people who had access to their money and there is no one besides myself allowed into mine so there is now way for them to take the money back. I rented a flat in muggle London that has a lot of other wizards and witches around it. I have been living there for the last three months and was relieved to receive my Hogwarts acceptance letter this year. I learned about a month ago that my father was sentenced to the dementors kiss but that my mother sister and I were spared mostly because Potter said that we had little to no involvement in the war and that my mother had actually saved him in the forbidden forest.” Draco finishes quieter then when he started and I can see tears running down his face.

“What is your sisters name?” I ask scooting closer to him.

“Zaria.” He answers wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“What does she look like?” I prod gently.

“She is very small for her age she barely looks five years old. She has hair so blonde it looks white like mine but hers is thicker and falls in ringlets almost to the bottom of her shirt. Her eyes are stormy blue but can look grey when she is in a mood. She has a small round face and an adorable little upturned nose. Mother let her get her ears pierced last year for her birthday and she almost always wears little diamond studs.” Draco is really crying now. He obviously loves his sister and it kills him that he can’t see her.

“You don’t have to go on if you don’t want to.” I say leaning into his side and wrapping my arm around his back. He nods and continues to cry for a few more minutes before he settles. “She sounds wonderful and I am sure she would come around to you if given the chance.”

“Thank you but I doubt she will get half a chance. She is mothers little clone and does nothing without her approval.” Draco starts telling me about some of his favorite memories from when he was a child and the minutes seem to fly by.

“Do you want me to cook supper now?” I ask him gently after he had finished telling me about the time he and his mother had visited a muggle farm and ridden horses all day.

“He stands and pulls me to my feet beside him. “Sure, I’ll help.” We walk back into the kitchen and I pull open the fridge.

“We should try to eat the bread before it goes stale. And the vegetables. I could freeze the meat if we don’t use it all.” I say to my self. “Should we make a salad with chicken and some of the bread?”

“That would be great do you want me to wash the vegetables?” he replies.

“Sure, I’ll get the chicken and make the dressing.” I pull out the chicken breast from the last drawer and wash it before laying it in a pan to cook a bit before I cut it. While it is cooking I look through the cupboards, standing on a chair, and pull out the things I need to make the salad dressing. Draco is busy washing up some lettuce and carrots for our salad. The chicken is white on the outside now so I quickly take it out of the pan and cut it into small strips. Then I turn the heat up to high and quickly finish cooking them through. When they are done I scoop them into a bowl and set the bowl aside to allow them to cool. Turning off the stove and setting the fry pan on a cool burner I start in on the salad dressing. I mix two tablespoons of red whine vinegar, two teaspoons of Dijon mustard, half a teaspoon of sea salt and a dash of pepper together and measure out one third a cup of olive oil, which I will add later.

“How’s the salad coming?” I ask Draco.

“Great, I just need to finish cutting this cucumber then its done.” He finishes quickly and I flip the chicken onto the salad and mix the oil into the other liquid before poring it all on top. Draco brings the bowl to the table and I bring the plates, forks and glasses of water. We sit and serve ourselves. There’s not much to talk about as we have been with each other all day so we finish quickly. We clean up all out mess and discover that there is only about half an hour before the meeting at the rec house.

“We should head over to Potter’s house now. Do you think we should take our lists and things?” Draco asks as we put away the last fork.

“Yes I think we should. I put them back into my bag so we can just bring that. Do you think we will need our wands.” I ask fingering the long stick in my hair.

“I think we should bring them even if we don’t think we will need them. Just so we don’t get out of the habit.” He replies grabbing his off the counter. I nod and we again make the short trek to Harry and Ginny’s house. The sign above the door says that only Harry and Ginny are home but we nock any ways. Ginny runs to answer the door and welcomes us in. It looks like they are just starting to make supper when we arrived.

“Are you guys still making your supper? Do either of you know how to cook?” I ask a little skeptically. 

“Um… not really. But we are figuring it out.” She replies happily, leading us back into their slightly smaller kitchen.

“Do you need help?” I ask politely.

“No that’s ok we’re figuring it out. I think Harry is just making eggs and toast tonight.” She replies.

“Ok just don’t let him near the salt. He tends to use to much.” I say loud enough for Harry to hear.

“True. That is true.” Harry says good-naturedly from the stove as Ginny laughs. He finishes the food in about five minutes and they are done eating another ten after that. Neville and Luna nock on the door at twenty five past and we all head down to the rec house.

When we arrive we sit in the front corner of the room where the two lines of indigo chairs are. There is one scarlet chair in our grouping so it is clear that Neville is to sit with us. The Gryffindor’s are the next two lines of chairs, then Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and last Slytherin. All the chairs are filled and at precisely six thirty Andromeda walks in.

“How did your first day go every one?” she asks in a cheery voice. A chorus of goods and fines rings out over the assembled crowed. “That’s wonderful. Does anyone have any questions before I get started?”

“The security charm, why is it necessary?” asks a snooty Slytherin girl.

“To make sure that we are protecting the integrity of the other spells as possible. Any trauma can send a woman into labor and I would prefer not to have to bring any of the charms back to life.” The room quieted. “Anything else?”

“The potion to restore our bodies. What does it do?” I ask quietly.

“It will bring your body up to a healthy weight and if you are malnourished the nutrients your body is missing will flood through your system. Good question Hermione.” I nod and lean back in my chair.

“Are the rings mandatory?” a Ravenclaw boy asks fiddling with his left hand.

“Absolutely, they are spelled so that they will heat up if either of the wearers are in danger. They also act as a tracking agent. Any more questions? No. Ok. Do you all understand how the point systems work?” she asks. We all nod and she continues on. “I know exactly how many points you all have. But I want to know if you have been paying attention and keeping track yourselves. We will start with Potter house. How many do you and Ginny have, Harry?”

“Um… around one hundred, I think.” He replies uncertainly.

“You and Ginny have one hundred Muggle Studies and thirty house points between the two of you which brings your total up to one hundred and six. Luna and Neville?”

“I am not quite sure. Around eighty I think.” Luna says clearly.

“You have one hundred and one points total. We will skip the heads for now and continue on to the Gryffindor’s. Hannah and Dean.”

“I’m sorry we don’t know.”

“Ninety five, next.” Andromeda keeps going down the lines and no one has any idea about how many points they have and Harry and Ginny seem to have the most. When she gets to the Slytherins they seem to have lost interest and don’t even try to remember, though there is not much to remember as many of them have less then fifty points.

“I am very disappointed in all of you. You must take responsibility. I suggest keeping track, as I will not tell you again. Now Draco, if you and Hermione would please tell everyone your points.” She asks.

“Which Auntie, the muggle studies points, the house points or the accumulated points.”

“All of the above if you will. Just read off your chart if you will.”

“All right. Well the first column is the date, the second is our muggle studies points and we have two hundred and ninety five. No expenses, five hundred left in our emergency pillow, fifty house points, and a total of eight hundred and five points if you add all of them together.” Draco lists quietly.

“Very good. You see, everyone, this is why these two are head boy and girl. They take the situation presented to them and make choices that ultimately lead to success. I bet none of you thought to make a chart did you.” She spouts demandingly.

“That’s because we aren’t mudblood know-it-all’s or blood traitors.” A bigger boy from Slytherin shouts.

“You will not speak like that in my class! Twenty points from Slytherin and fifty from your home.” Andromeda shouts. She doesn’t understand that she just made everything worse for Draco and I. the Slytherins were already going to rag on us because of my blood status and Draco switching houses, but now they are going to think that we are week and need the professors to protect us.

“Auntie don’t, you’ll only make it worse.” He seems to have been thinking along the same lines as me and tries to calm his aunt.

“No I will not calm down Draco, they need to learn that those words are not acceptable.” Andromeda is becoming more and more mad as the seconds tick by and the Slytherins are still laughing at the boy’s comment. Her hair starts curling and turns raven black. I can’t breath and suddenly I am back at the manor for the second time in as many days, or at least part of me is as I can still see the classroom around me. I start screaming and screaming and can see her coming towards me. She is smiling and holding her knife out in front of her. I feel arms around me and struggle to get free. No, not again, I can’t go through this again. 

I am vaguely aware of being pulled out of the room while someone is yelling, “Get her out of here Malfoy! Get her calmed down.” I think it is Harry.

“Hermione, Hermione! Snap out of it. Your fine. You are not there, you got out. Hush Hermione.” Draco says in my ear. He holds me tight to his chest and sits with me on the ground outside the rec house. “Hush, hush. I won’t let her hurt you ever again, I promise. You are safe, Hermione. Hush, its all right.” I can still see the room and feel the knife on my arm but the hallucination is fading and as it does I am coming back into myself. 

“I’m sorry. I ruined the meeting didn’t I.” I sob into Draco’s shirt. He tries to soothe and calm me down. I had started sobbing uncontrollably and he was rocking me shushing and talking softly.

“No, no you didn’t ruin anything. Every thing is fine.” He whispers. “Do you want to go home? I’m sure we can ask one of the others what the rest of the meeting was about. I could take you home.” I nod and he picks me up, carrying me bridal style to our house.

“You can put me down here now. Thank you.” I say meekly. I have calmed a bit more and go to sit on the couch in the sitting room. Draco brings me over a glass of water and some tissues. “I’m sorry for ruining your shirt.” I say referring to the wet spots my tears made on his shirt.

“Think nothing of it, it can be washed. It was the manor again wasn’t it.” He asks. I nod and he hugs me to his side. “What did you do this summer to deal with these terrors? Did Potter or Weasley help you?”

“No.”

“Who then. Your parents?” he puzzles. I shake my head no. “One of our professors?” tears are running down my face again as I shake my head no one last time.

“I handled it my self.” I of course hadn’t handled it at all. I had let it consume me.

“No you didn’t. What really happened this summer Hermione?” he asks gently. I shake my head but he can tell that I want to tell someone. “Come on. Not the whole thing if you don’t want but at least one thing. Why didn’t you stay at the Weasleys? Or with Potter or something.”

“Harry did stay at the Burrow, he was with Ginny though so it didn’t seem weird. Ron and I had broken up so I didn’t feel comfortable living there. Though I’m sure Mrs. Weasley would have let me stay.” I explain still crying.

“You and Weasley broke up?” Draco seems stunned.

I nod and reply, “Almost before we were together. He had just lost his brother and was too immature to handle that and a serious relation ship. He also expected me to just sit at home popping out babies while he went and scraped together enough money to make a living. I couldn’t handle that. It was a good thing I guess. I realized I loved him as I love Harry, or Ginny. Like a sibling.” Draco nods his understanding.

“Why not your parents then.” He prods.

“I had used the obliviate charm before last school year started to keep them safe by erasing their memories of me. They went to Australia as the have always wished and settled down. They had a nice life. They opened their own practice and had adopted a small child. She was beautiful, I used to go and watch her play at the park. They renamed her Bella. She had dark brown eyes and flaming red hair. I approached her one day and saw that she was cruel, they spoiled her as the never had me. She demanded everything and got most what she wanted. She wanted me. My parents hired me as a nanny and I worked for them for a while but then my terrors started. Bella said I scared her at night and they fired me. I could see that they were starting to remember the things I had erased and even re wrote their will, leaving everything to a distant cousin named Hermione Granger. They had been doing very well in Australia. I became desperate when they started remembering and tried to restore their memories fully but I only scarred their minds, drove them mad. They killed Bella and committed joint suicide, burning down their house. I tried to save them, I truly did.” I sob showing him the large scar of a burn past healed on the back of my neck. It is long and ugly. Starting behind my right ear and running all the way across my back to my left shoulder. A beam from the celling had fallen on me and I had taken to long in getting out from under it. I feel Draco’s fingers gently push aside the neck of my sweater, tracing the ragged line with his thumb.

“Did you heal it yourself?” he asked slightly breathlessly.

“Yes.” I gasp in between sobs.

“Do you want me to clean it up? I am good at scars, making them smaller. I could try if you want.” He mentions cautiously.

“Alright, do your worst.” I reply drying my tears on the tissues he had brought me. We walk out our back door and set ourselves down on the grass just over our property line so his magic will work.

“I’m sorry, this may hurt some.” He apologizes in advance, pulling out his wand. “Delicatissime Colligavi. Obtorpescere Cutis Circum Cicatricula. Cicatrix Factus sum Aperire.” (Tenderly bind. Numb skin around scar. Wound become open.) He numbs the area around my scar and reopens the burn. The pain is nearly unbearable and I let out a piercing screech. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m half way done.” 

“STOP! Don’t you bloody touch her.” I hear Harry yell from a ways away. I look up and see him and Ginny running at us from around the side of our house. They both have their wands out and pointed at Draco kneeling above my body. It must really look bad, me lying on my stomach in the grass and Draco kneeling over me with his wand out.

“Harry don’t! He isn’t hurting me. He is helping me. Please go away.” I beg. Immobilized by Draco’s first spell.

“No. We will not. How do we know that he is not controlling you?” Ginny demands her wand still raised.

“I am not controlling her but by all means stay if you must.” Draco says calmly. Harry and Ginny sit in the grass beside me and watch Draco carefully. If he is nervous about the new audience he doesn’t show it.

He continues on slowly healing me from the inside out. “Sensim Sanavi Ignis Crematus Carnis. Surrogo Perditus Ligaminis. ” (Slowly heal fire burned flesh. Replace damaged nerves). “I’m sorry, just one spell left. Almost done.” I whimper for him to go on. “One last spell.” He says gently. “Reductus Cicatricula Factus sum Levior. Diligenter Factus sum Agitabilis.” (Reduce scar become smooth. Carefully become mobile). “There. That is better. I took away the redness and the raised sections of the scar. Though I could not completely take away the damage. It now looks only like a silver line running the course of the old wound.” Draco whispers in my ear while he helps me to turn over and sit up.

“What was all that about? We had just gotten out of the meeting and were nearly home when we heard you scream so we walked over here and saw this git kneeling over you doing who knows what.” Harry demands hotly. Draco stands and pulls me to my feet, keeping one hand on my back. Harry makes a grab for my arm but gets the one with the scar on it and I whimper a bit in pain.

“That just happens to be none of your business.” Draco hisses pulling me closer to him. I lean into him and pat his hand trying to calm him. He gently runs his hand over the arm Harry grabbed, soothing the small hurt. He is being very careful not to raise his wand and I can see the strain that not defending himself or me is putting on him.

“The hell it isn’t. You tell me what happened or your aunt won’t have enough pieces left to fill a match box.” Harry spits back. Ginny, whom had previously put away her wand, had taken it out again and was pointing it at Draco. 

Draco tries to push me behind him but I wont stand for it. I plant my feet and start talking in a low, very dangerous voice. “Draco is right. What we were doing is none of your business. Kindly lower your wand. Now!” I shout the last part and it stuns Harry and Ginny into compliancy. They both lower their wands and stare at me slack jawed. “As you can see I am fine now if you would excuse us.”

“You are not fine. Something he did changed you. You aren’t you anymore.“ Harry says regaining his wits.

“He’s right. You are different. What did he do?” Ginny demands.

“Oh for the love of Merlin. Your right, I’m different. But you know what? It had nothing to do with Draco, because, incase you hadn’t noticed, he is different too. Now kindly SOD OFF!” I grabbed Draco’s hand and practically dragged him into our house, slamming the door behind us. Looking back out the window at Harry and Ginny standing confused at the edge of our yard, I let out a small laugh before collapsing into deep sobs.

Draco scoops me up and carries me up to our room gently placing me in the center of our bed. He sits beside me and lets me cry. And cry I do, for about ten minutes, then as my sobs die down into the occasional sniffle he says something I would never think would come out of his mouth.

He says, “I think you may have made Potter pee himself.” I laugh, and laugh, and laugh. I laugh until I can’t breath and my sides hurt. It’s just the way he said it. Like he was a kid set free in a candy store.

“Thank you for that. I needed it. It had been to dark of an evening.” I say after I catch my breath.

“Are you women always this flippy floppy with your moods? It must get so tiring.” He says bewildered.

“Just you wait till we are all pregnant. It will get a thousand times worse.” I tease only half kidding. The look on his face is priceless, it is somewhere between incredible confusion and all consuming panic. Laughing I reach up to his face and plant a kiss on his cheek surprising both of us.

“Will it really be that bad?” he asks almost scared.

“For some of us yes, but pregnancy isn’t the same for every woman. Some are hardly affected at all while others live next to the lou with their husbands standing by terrified of her.” I try to explain.

“Living next to the lou? But why?” he asks confused.

“Has no one ever explained pregnancy to you?” He shakes his head no. “Ok, then I will. Pregnancy is split into three sections called trimesters. During the first trimester, which is the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, the pregnant woman will be very tired and may have what is called morning sickness. Our breasts can become swollen and we develop different cravings or distastes for certain foods.” 

His face pales at my mention of morning sickness but then flames at the word breasts. 

“We may have mood swings and have to pee a lot more, we can get headaches and gain or loose weight. A lot of women have to change how they are living when they are pregnant and they tend to change how and when they sleep and when and how much they eat.  
The second trimester is weeks thirteen through twenty eight. During this time the nausea and fatigue may start to go away but they are replaced by other, bigger changes. During the second trimester we start showing and near the end the baby starts moving. Our bodies start to ache and sometimes women will get discoloration of their skin usually on their face and stomach. We start to retain water, which causes swelling in our ankles, fingers and face and can be very uncomfortable.”

“So basically having kids wreaks havoc on a woman’s body?” Draco asks. I nod and he continues on. “Then why do you do it?”

“Well, I think that the good things out way the bad and makes all the pain and discomfort worth it. That and if all women decided not to have kids just because it was kind of hard the human race would come to an end within a hundred years.” I try to explain.

“I guess that makes sense. Ok what about the third trimester?” he asks for me to continue.

“During the third trimester many women find breathing difficult and notice they have to go to the bathroom even more often. This is because the baby is getting bigger and it is putting more pressure on our organs. We tend to have trouble sleeping and can start having contractions, which can be a sign of both real and false labor. There is a lot more but I don’t remember half of it. Questions?”

“All of that is going to fit in a month?” 

“For some girls maybe, some may have even more and some may have none of it, aside from the getting bigger and the like.” I reply.

“Is there anything you would absolutely like to avoid?” he asks.

“I think probably the morning sickness and the discoloration would be nice to skip. And I would like to avoid weight gain as much as possible. Do you know what time it is?” I ask suddenly remembering our charm timer. 

Looking over at the clock on the wall Draco reads off the time, “It is nine fifteen. We have about half an hour before lights out. We should get ready for bed. You can use the bathroom this time if you want.”

“Ok.” I nod suddenly nervous. I walk into the closet and grab my favorite pajamas and head into the bathroom. I take off my shirt first and tie my hair back so I can wash my face. When I am done I slip off my leggings and put on my silky smooth night gown. After brushing my teeth and hair and braiding it back I walk back into the bedroom. Draco is sitting on the side of the bed apparently waiting for me to come out so he could use it.

“You could have nocked.” I say shyly.

“I didn’t want to rush you.” he shrugs. I climb into the bed, place my wand on the bedside table, and watch the clock slowly tick down to nine forty five. Draco makes it out with seconds to spare and the lights slam off as soon as the clock strikes the quarter after mark. Draco lies down on the bed and I follow suit. We lay there under the covers, side by side but not touching, until the clock strikes ten.

***

“I think you may have made Potter pee him self.” I laugh, and laugh, and laugh. I laugh until I can’t breath and my sides hurt. It’s just the way he said it. Like he was a kid set free in a candy store.

“Thank you for that. I needed it. It had been to dark of an evening.” I say after I catch my breath.

“Are you women always this flippy floppy with your moods? It must get so tiring.” He says bewildered.

“Just you wait till we are all pregnant. It will get a thousand times worse.” I tease only half kidding. The look on his face is priceless, it is somewhere between incredible confusion and all consuming panic. Laughing I reach up to his face and plant a kiss on his cheek.

“Lets see if we can make that thousand percent come faster then shall we.” His adorable look of confusion and panic has turned into one that makes my lady parts tingle. He reaches over to me and winds his fingers in my hair.

“Draco…” I breathe as his face comes closer to mine. Jus a few more centimetres then his lips will be on mine.

“Yes Hermione? What is it?” he asks, his forehead pressed against mine. I can feel his breath brushing over my neck and it is doing interesting things to my brain.

“Draco, kiss me. Please kiss me.” I beg, my arms winding up around his neck. Slowly, oh so slowly he brings his lips to mine. Gentle at first, as though he fears I may break, but then harder. His tongue brushes my bottom lip, seeking access to my mouth and I let him in. At first he only skims my lips and the tops of my teeth but then he becomes more bold and caresses the roof of my mouth and the side of my tongue. Instantly it springs alive and I start to make my own exploration. His lips are so soft and he tastes like, well almost like cherries but a little sweeter then that. But it is also more mellow and doesn’t overwhelm the very distinct maleness of him. 

With one hand still in my hair he gently scoots me onto his lap so I am sitting across him. Having explored my mouth thoroughly he trails kisses across my cheek and down my neck nipping lightly at my skin here and there and then soothing the hurt. When he gets to my collar bone he picks me up and lays me on the bed coming to rest over top of me.

I stretch my hands down his chest undoing the buttons on his shirt as I go. I explore his chest with my hands and marvel at the hard muscle I can feel coiling under his soft skin.

“Can I take off your shirt?” he grumbles gently against my neck. I nod and he slowly removes my sweater from my body, leaving behind my tank top. He kisses his way back up to my mouth while his hands explore my torso and back. Arching my back off the bed I tug my tank top up over my head and Draco’s eyes flash as he takes in my now bare flesh. The tingling in my parts intensifies as he trails open mouthed kisses down my chest between my breasts and over my stomach. His hands come to rest at the waste band of my leggings where he pauses. 

“Please.” I beg and he slowly slips his fingers under the elastic. Gently he pulls off the offending peace of fabric. He backs off a bit looking down at now clad only in my black bra and knickers. I lay there on the bed as he stares, not moving, just watching. Slowly, so very slowly his hands move to the closure of his pants. Carefully dropping them he comes back to rest over top of me and as he does I scoot farther onto the large bed. Resuming our earlier position I can now easily feel his member pressing into my pelvic and the erotic touch sends shivers coursing through my body. 

Now growing impatient I remove my bra and panties and wait to see what he would do. To my surprise he stills. “Are you sure.” He asks a small frown playing over his brow.

“Yes.” I breathe as I reach up and place my hand on his face. He shucks off his underpants and settles between my legs. Winding my hands in his hair I pull his face down to mine and brush a kiss over his lips. He braces his hands on the bed on either side of my head and slowly pushes into me. It is tight at first and kind of hurts but then he starts moving going a little deeper each time and the pain starts to fade. 

“Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you did I?” He asks me sounding legitimately concerned. I nearly cry at his consideration of my wellbeing. 

“No I am fine. Keep going.” I gently rotate my hips against his as he begins to move in earnest. An amazing feeling bubbles up inside me. Like a balloon filling or water building up behind a dam. He brings his mouth down to mine and I close my eyes to better appreciate the sensual assault on my body. My hands flutter over his back at the bubble expanding inside me suddenly pops and the most delicious feeling washes over my entire body clouding over my mind and taking over my body. In my hazy state I can feel Draco come inside of me before collapsing onto his back and pulling me on top of him. I nuzzle into his chest thoroughly spend and can barely hear his last whispered words.

“I’m sorry…”

I find myself laying on my back staring up at the celling in our room. I look over at Draco as he suddenly sits up and gets off the bed. “Excuse me for a moment.” He calls from half way across the room. I hear the shower running and chuckle to myself I know how he feels, I can still feel the after shocks of the immense pleasure running through my body. He comes out a few minutes later only wearing his pajama bottoms and lays beside me on the bed under the covers.

“Hi.” I say. He doesn’t respond. I laugh and roll onto my side facing away from him.

“What Happened after that?” He asks gently. I lift my head up off my pillow, confused. 

“Sorry?” I ask.

“After you got this.” He replies tracing a finger down the scar on my back.

“I moped around in Australia for a while. The Muggle authorities contacted me and informed me that everything my parents owned was now mine including their practice and several houses all around the world. I sold the dentistry for about three hundred million muggle dollars and put all my newly acquired money in my vault at Gringots and that along with my reward money for helping Harry and now have enough money to live happily for about five lifetimes.” I confess.

“Wow” Draco breaths. 

“Yeah, well good things come to those who kill their parents.” I sob. “Good night Draco.” I say ending our conversation 

“Good night Hermione.” He sighs rolling farther onto his side of the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

I wake myself up automatically at the time I normally do to get ready for class, I hadn’t had a single bad dream last night and my body is thanking me for it. Some time during the night I seem to have moved over and now lay under his arm, my head on his shoulder. He still has his eyes closed and looks as though he may be falling asleep. Slowly I sit up and swing my leg over so I am straddling his stomach. He still doesn’t wake up. I lean over him and bring my face within five centimeters of his. I stare at him and, slowly, he opens one eye, then he closes it again and continues dozing. I slip off him and stand up beside the bed. I am a little put out that he isn’t waking up. I wish that I could use magic to wake him up. And then inspiration strikes, very quietly I fill a dixy cup half full with freezing cold water and walk quietly back into the bedroom. Standing over Draco I smile wickedly and start to tip the little cup.

“Don’t you dare. I don’t want to have to air out this bed today.” He smirks, eyes still closed.

I instantly deflate. “But how did you know?” I ask setting the cup on the bedside table and sitting on the bed beside him.

“That shall remain a secret. How bout you go take a shower, I’ll be sure to get up.” He laughs at the sound of protest that escapes my lips. “Go.”

“Fine.” I pout as I pick out the clothes I am going to wear for today. I settle for black skinny jeans and dark green underpants and a dark green tight-necked tank top. I quickly shower, get dressed, replace my rings and do my makeup and when I walk out of the bathroom guess who’s still asleep. “Ok mister, this isn’t funny anymore get up.” I pull the covers off of him and drag his feet off the bed.

“Come on ‘Mione jus a few more minutes.” He begs.

“No you have twenty to get your arse downstairs. I am going to go make breakfast and I will not hesitate to jump on you if you are not down in time.” I demand. He groans, rolls over a few times and sits up.

“Alright you win. I’m getting up now.” He makes a big show of getting out of the bed. “Help me make this will you.” He says gesturing to the bed. I walk over to my side and straighten the top sheet, then the blanket and finally the pillows. “Thanks.” I nod and grab my wand off the table and stick it through my hair again. I really need to find a better place to put this. Draco heads into the closet so I think it is safe for me to go down stairs. Eggs and toast sounds good for right now so I get out a few slices of the bread from yesterday and toast and butter it before placing it on the table. Next I make some eggs. I don’t know how Draco likes them so I make two scrambled, one fried and the last hard boiled. I am just setting the last plate on the table when Draco walks down in jeans and a black t-shirt.

“Oh. I love eggs, thank you.” He says happily. We sit down to eat about fifteen minutes before we have to head to class. Finishing out food we wash up and close up the house. Harry and Ginny are doing the same and Neville and Luna are walking across the way to meet them. I look hopefully over at them but they refuse to acknowledge us. 

“Come on Draco.” Sighing I grab his hand and we walk up to the castle by our selves. We get into the Muggle Studies class room just as Andromeda is walking in, she gives us a look but lets it slide.

“All right every one. Girls on the right boys on the left. Girls follow Poppy if you would boys are going to stay here and see what they know about pregnancy.” Andromeda lists off. Almost all of the boys groan and look around uncomfortably. I look at Draco, he is standing a little aside from the rest of the pack and doesn’t seem bothered by the subject. He looks up and catches my eye, I shoot him a small smile and he grins back then pulls a face to try and make me laugh. He succeeds.

“Come now ladies. To the hospital wing with you.” Madam Pomfrey says in her sharp voice. We arrive in the hospital wing minutes later and are ushered into a back room I had never noticed before. Inside there is a section screened off where I assume the examination area is. “Who will be first?” nobody raises there hand so, begrudgingly, I raise my own. “Very good Miss. Granger. One hundred points to Malfoy house.” The other girls scowl at my back as I walk behind the screen.

“What do I have to do?” I ask cautiously.

“Just stay still please.” She replies kindly. I do as she says aware that she has the ability to look through me and inspect me internally. Tutting she presses her hands against my stomach and sides looking for who knows what. 

She mutters a few words while waving her wand around my midsection and I finally ask. “What are you looking for?” 

She bobs her head a bit and replies, “I’m trying to find the way best treat you. You are severally underweight and malnourished and I am afraid that my potion will not be strong enough to fully heal you. I would like you and Mr. Malfoy to stay after class if that is all right. I will send word to Professor Quigley and let him know that you will be late to his class. You may go back to muggle studies, please return here after class.” I hurry out of the hospital eager to be back in class.

“Miss. Granger, I did not expect you to be back so soon. Is everything alright?” Andromeda whispers to me as I hurry in about twenty minutes after I left.

“There was an issue with the potion for me, and so Draco and I have to go to the hospital wing after class. That is all.” I rush out.

“Are you ok Hermione? Tell me the truth.” She prompts strongly though still in a whisper.

“No I am not ok. But I am dealing with it.” I confess. She nods, trusting me and I walk quietly to Draco and sit down beside him. He seems to have finished his test though everyone else is still working.

How did it go? He writes on a piece of paper. 

Not so well, Madam Pomfrey said that I am to underweight and malnourished for the potion to fix me and that both of us have to go see her after class. Sorry. I write back.

Not. Your. Fault. We will go and you will get healthier, not fixed. You did nothing wrong. He writes forcefully, not letting me write back.

I scoot my chair closer to his and lean against him. He wraps his arm around me and starts drawing. At first I can’t tell what the picture is but then all of a sudden I can see it. It is a beautiful baby girl with dark curling hair and ginormous light eyes. She has a small pert nose and chubby little cheeks. The rest of her starts to take form. Draco has decided to draw her in my arms. The look on my face, though you can only see half of it as the baby is looking up over my shoulder and I am looking at her, is one of pure joy and all consuming love. I can feel a single tear running down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away.

“Good job Draco. I didn’t know you had so much talent.” Andromeda compliments from behind us. I am kind of mad. This is our baby, or at least a drawing of what she may look like, and she is intruding upon our moment with our daughter.

“Not now Auntie. This is not the best time.” Draco says thickly. I glance up at his face and am surprised to see tears there.

“No, now is the perfect time. Here every one. This is what you should all be doing, if not on paper then in your minds.” She calls out in her usual peppy tone. She uses a spell to project the picture Draco just drew up onto the wall. I start crying in earnest at her disregard of our privacy and Draco gets mad.

“Finis Effigies Prominens.” (End image projection). He shouts and his spell immediately ends his aunts. “That was not for you to share, Auntie. That was Hermione’s and mine alone. You had no right.” He hisses dangerously.

“I do not see what I did wrong. Your drawing was wonderful and others should be doing the exact same thing. It was simply a lesson.” She calmly states.

“A lesson! A lesson!” I sob. “That is my baby! She was not yours. Mine.” I collapse my head onto my desk and Draco drops to his knees beside me, wrapping his arms around me and shushing me softly.

“That was a really nasty thing to do Professor.” Harry’s voice chimes from where he is now standing behind his desk. A lot of other voices agree with him. “That was their own special thing and you just made an example of it. Do you not think that that is exactly what we are all doing? We may not be drawing pictures but I can assure you that at one point or another we have all thought about what our child will look like.” He finishes and the others agree more strongly to this.

“Yeah, Luna has been drawing faces in her own special way too. She nearly bit my head off when I tried to tell her that babies aren’t born looking exactly like their parents. She wants ours to be a boy with straight blonde hair and for it to have my eyes. When I suggested anything different she flew through the roof.” Neville adds in.

“Hannah wants ours to be a girl with light brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a teeny tinny nose.” Dean chimes in. All the other Gryffindor men start listing off what either they or their partners want while Andromeda stares on flabbergasted. 

“Ginny wants ours to have my eyes and hair and her nose and lips. She wants a girl and has already started talking about all the fun she and it are going to have even though we only found out about it yesterday. So yeah that was a great drawing and I am glad that they are thinking about their future but there was no need to expose them to the world like that.” Harry finishes and sits back down to his test.

“I am sorry. I seem to have had a lapse in judgment. Please forgive me Draco, Hermione.” She says in a daze, drifting back up to her desk. “Please continue working on your tests. You all get one hundred points for proving me wrong.”

Draco sits back in his chair and pulls me onto his lap; I still only come up to his chin. Holding me tightly and not caring in the least about what the others thought. Most of them didn’t give us second glances as they understood the need to comfort their partner and they had seen how upset I was. The ones who did look were the ones whom either missed their partner or were not used to seeing such open displays of comfort.

I transfigure Draco’s chair into one more comfortable for sharing and lean back into him enjoying the company. Andromeda looks at us and I think she is about to tell us off but then she thinks better of it and goes back to grading papers on her desk. Draco lets his arms fall loose into my lap and picks up his pencil and starts drawing again, a new picture. I watch as he starts sketching a small face with round cheeks and full lips and I relax a bit more glancing down again at his left hand resting in my lap. I gasp. His mark is gone! Or at least the harsh blackness of it is. I can still a faint white pattern left over like a scar but even that is faded in some places. Slowly I trace the outline and I instantly feel him tense up but when I don’t stop he relaxes again and goes back to drawing.

The girls walk in a few minutes later, lead by Ginny and Luna whom both avoid eye contact with me. A lot of them stare at Draco and I but we sit in the very back row so we don’t bother moving. I see Harry talking to Ginny and see her shoulders slump slightly as she looks back at us and smiles a genuine smile. Apparently Harry has forgiven us and Ginny was only mad because Harry was.

Draco pulled out our notebook and tallied up the new points. “I got one hundred for going first during the examination. And one hundred that we just got, but what’s the last one hundred fifty for?” I ask Draco in a whisper.

“One hundred for finishing the test first and another fifty for getting all the questions wright.” He whispers into my hair. I nod and Andromeda begins her lesson.

“Does anyone have any questions about their houses?” she began and for the last twenty minutes of class she just answered questions and explained what certain things in the houses did.

After class Draco and I walk down to the hospital wing together and meat Madam Pomfrey in her office. “Hello Miss. Granger, Mr. Malfoy. If you would follow me please.” The old witch rambled. She started leading us around the castle and I quickly figured that we were going to the Headmistresses office.

“Excuse me Madam Pomfrey, but why are we going to the Headmistresses office?” Draco asks apparently coming to the same conclusion that I had.

“The strength of the potion you need is beyond my skill level. I need to speak to Snape.” She replies bluntly. We instantly shut up. I had succeeded in not thinking about our professor and newly learned protector and I didn’t want to start now. I looked up at Draco and am surprised at the amount of pain I see there. Stuffing my feelings as deep as they go I grab his hand and squeeze it tight. Smiling down at me he continues walking with me, never faltering. We arrived at McGonagall’s office shortly and Madam Pomfrey mutters the password, the gargoyles allow us entry and we soon find ourselves entering McGonagall’s office.

“What can I do for you Poppy?” McGonagall asks kindly.

“I need to talk to Sev. I require a health potion that is beyond my skill level.” The medwitch said stiffly.

“Of course. Follow me.” McGonagall leads us out of her office through a side door and we find ourselves standing in a small room furnished only in black hangings.

“What’s up?” Aniline asks walking through the wall to out right. She has decided to wear black leggings and an indigo tank top today though her circlet still rests upon her head.

“Hello Aniline. I’m not really sure. Madam Pomfrey needs to speak with an old Professor of ours.” Draco whispers. I move a little closer to his side as the temperature of the room drops several degrees. 

“Really Sev. You are going to play this way. Aniline, if you would please get Sev to behave. At least for now.” McGonagall sighs.

“Of course headmistress. Sev please play nice. These are friends. Come out here little one.” Aniline coo’s gently in her sweet voice. A small beautiful girl suddenly appears beside Aniline and sticks her tongue out at all of us.

“I though we were going to play today Aniline.” The girl wines in a small high voice. She is really quite small, barely coming up to my elbows. Her hair is as black as a starless night sky and falls in silky waves almost to the floor. Her eyes are huge and as black as her hair and ringed in thick black lashes. Standing in front of us with her tiny hands on her hips she looks like a small princess in her shimmering green dress.

“We will, later. Right now they need your help. These people need a healing potion to make the young girl healthy and they want you to make it for them. I would really like you to do this and I think that you may get a present if you do as they ask.” Aniline says to the tiny creature. The little girl nodded her head vigorously and turned to Madam Pomfrey.

“What do you need old lady?” the girl asked.

“Sevanna that wasn’t nice.” McGonagall reprimanded.

“Excuse me but what the hell is going on here?” I demand still tucked beside Draco.

“Oh, sorry. This is Sevanna; she is one of the strongest necromancers of the last millennium. I have been training her since she appeared here. One last thing about her, she is Severus. A necromancer is created when a powerful witch or wizard has died. Sevanna can call Severus to her as easily as I called her. Now if you would, we need to speak to Severus.” Aniline explained. Sevanna nodded and disappeared quickly. In her place a very alive looking Snape appeared.

“And to what do I owe this displeasure?” the ex-Professor asked in his signature board tone.

“I need a healing potion for Miss. Granger here and I do not feel like I can make one strong enough that still stays stable.” Madam Pomfrey explained.

“What is wrong with her?” he asked sounding a little more concerned. Confusion coursed through my mind. Why would he care?

“See for yourself.” Madam Pomfrey replied gesturing towards me. Snape walked over and lightly placed his forefinger in the centre of my forehead. His face, though remaining mostly blank, briefly flashed a look of great surprise and even some pity.

“Do not pity me, old man.” I hissed at him, pulling back from his touch. He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them I saw in them hard resolve.

“I will be back in a moment.” He says disappearing.

“Where did he go Aniline?” McGonagall asks the young woman.

“He went to his death place. It is hard to explain but all witches or wizards whose death causes a necromancer to be created get their own special place in Death as opposed to other witches and wizards who just float in limbo. His place just happens to be Hogwarts and the grounds from when he was a student here.” Aniline illustrated. Just when she finished explaining Snape popped back into this room.

“Sorry it took so long, but here, this should work. Though I must warn you this can only heal you physically. You will only need to take one dose, three drops.” Snape directs as he hands me a little bottle of a pure white substance that looks as though it is emanating a soft light; it is like Snape had found a way to bottle moonlight.

“Well, go ahead dear.” Madam Pomfrey said, quickly pulling out her time keeper. I unstopped the bottle and drop three drops of the liquid onto my tongue. Light bursts behind my eyes and I instantly collapse. I can feel energy coursing through my body the likes of which I haven’t felt since before the war. I wish I could describe the taste of the wonderful substance. It was a little like fresh mountain spring water mixed with the sweet nectar that I used to suck out of the purple clover flowers when I was small all topped off with a small hint of sweetly sour cherries. 

“Hermione, are you ok?” I hear Draco urgently whispering in my ear. Coming to I look around the room, every one is staring at me.

“I’m fine. Could you help me up.” I whisper back. He helps me to stand and the others in the room look around slightly confused.

“Ah, yes. I was not sure if that was going to happen or not. It seems, Miss. Granger, that the since you were touching Mr. Malfoy’s skin when you ingested the potion that you have inherited some of his traits. I am afraid that the changes are irreversible in you though your genetic code has stayed the same and the chances of you passing your old features to your children are the same as when you still looked like you.” Snape says quickly.

“How did this happen Severus?” McGonagall asks quickly.

“The potion assumed that since the two were touching that they were one person. Since Mr. Malfoy had the stronger body, all the changes it made to Miss. Granger it made the way it would have healed Mr. Malfoy.”

“What the hell do you mean? What changed?” I screech. McGonagall quickly transfigures a book she was carrying into a mirror and hands it to me. Nervous at what I am about to see I quickly scan the rest of my body first. My fingers appear to be thinner and longer my rings adjusted to their new size and didn’t fall off, my legs are a little thinner and my arms longer as well. I seem to have become what people call willowy. My shirt is a bit loose and my bra seems to be a bit too big. I quickly shrink my clothes down to the appropriate size and continue with my exploration. Looking in the mirror I am relieved to still recognize myself. I’m still me though my face, thought still just as thin as it was before seems to have taken on a healthier shine. I look up to my eyes and am pleased to find that they haven’t changed at all, well the color hasn’t at least, and the shape is a little different.

“Its not so bad. You are still a beautiful girl.” McGonagall try’s to tell me.

“Are you implying that I would not be beautiful if I looked exactly like Draco?” I asked frostily.

Her face paled at her mistake. “Of c-course not.” She stuttered. Looking back in the mirror I look up my face and to my hair. It how hangs almost past my bum and is platinum blonde though it does still have the curl of my formerly curly locks. My skin changed as well. It is now snowy white and perfectly smooth, though there is a faint blush across my cheeks, and it is pulled tight across my bones instead of how it was previously hanging loosely.

“Well, I guess that we should probably get back to class. Thank you Snape and Sevanna and every one else for helping me but we really must leave now.” The teachers nodded and we walked out of the black room after I had made sure that I still had the little potion bottle.

“What’s on your mind?” Draco asks me once we are past the gargoyles.

“Oh nothing.” I reply fingering my new hair. It is very soft now. Not frizzy at all. I think I like it like this. It makes me feel new.

“Do you really want to go back to class? We could skip and head back home if you want to take the day.” He asks cautiously.

“No, we should go to class. We need the points. Come on.” I grab his hand and pull him to the transfiguration classroom.

“Hello Mr. Malfoy, who is this with you?” Professor Quigley asks when we walk in. My hair had fallen over my eyes a bit and I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t recognize me.

“Oh bloody hell, not another Malfoy. Please.” A Ravenclaw seventh year girl whined. 

Winking up at Draco I held my finger to my lips telling him not to tell. Looking around the classroom I am surprised to see every single male staring at me unabashedly. A lot of the girls are looking frustrated at their partners and some are even smacking them to stop looking at me. Draco seems to have noticed the boys looking as well and has moved in front of me a bit. Laughing I flip my hair back from my eyes and stare directly at Harry.

“Good God Hermione. What has he done now?” Harry exclaims smiling widely. The entire class erupts.

“It wasn’t him. I had a small mishap with an incredibly powerful healing potion and I came out the other end like this.” I explained to Harry and the others as Draco and I took our seats.

“You are explaining all of it later.” Ginny states still staring at me.

“All right everyone back to the lesson. You have the last twenty minutes of the class to practice transfiguring the pitchers from yesterday back into the goblets. Mr. Malfoy if you would come get this pitcher as it would be a waste to destroy your originals.”

Draco walks up to the desk and grabs the simple pitcher, bringing it back to our work space. “Do you want to do the spell this time?” he asks. I nod and we start.

“Arida Ascendo” (water ascend) he starts.

“Recido Ut Pristinus” (revert to original). I command. The goblets form and Draco lowers the water into the new containers.

“Arida Delabi” (water descend). Finishing well before anyone else we sit at our desks. Fiddling round with my hair a bit more I decide to try and put it up. I haven’t ever had hair this long so it may be a bit of a struggle. Taking the binder from my wrist I collect all of my hair and twist it into a bun a top my head. Some of the finer strands hang down but I seem to have gotten most of it. Sticking my wand back through my hair I sit back in my chair. Draco glances over at me and reaches to tuck a strand that I missed behind my ear. 

“Already done? It has been less then two minutes.” Professor Quigley seems to have been watching us again. “One hundred points for your Muggle studies thing and twenty five each for your house.” He says a little put out. It seems as though he expected this project to be harder then yesterdays.

“Five hundred points already today and it is only second class. These Professors are very loose with the point giving. It almost makes me worry about the value of all of the points.” Draco comments.

“Andromeda explained that after you two left last night. Every point is two muggle dollars. She wasn’t expecting anyone to get as many points as you two and for that as much money.” Neville explains from his spot in front of us.

“Thank you Neville.” I respond. Nearly everyone is finished with their task by the end of class though one set of students can’t seam to keep their water from spilling.

“Good job everyone. I will see you in our next class. Till then I bid thee all adieu.” The quirky professor flourishes his hand as he slips into a bow.

Next class is potions with Hufflepuff. Ron will be there. I haven’t seen him since the sorting. This will be an interesting class. I wonder what we will be doing.

“So Hermione, you look great but what happened?” Ginny probes, gently taking my arm.

“Basically I took a very strong healing potion while touching Draco. It healed me but it thought that Draco and I were the same person so it changed the bits of me it was healing so that they resemble him. I think that’s it. That’s how Snape’s ghost explained it anyways.” I trailed off trying to think of anything I had missed.

“And there is no chance of you turning back.” Draco added in. I nodded and wrapped my arm around Ginny.

“You do look very much alike but you Hermione almost look more like Fleur. If I didn’t know you I would definitely think you had some vela in you.” Luna says in her whimsical voice.

“Really! I didn’t know I had changed that much. What can you guys see that is different?” I ask them hesitantly.

“Well, you are a bit shorter and a lot thinner though I think it is because your bone structure is smaller. Your face is almost the same shape though your nose is thinner and turns up at the end and your cheek bones and chin are sharper. Your eyes, obviously, they slant up a bit now. And, of course, your hair. It is Malfoy’s platinum color though still has your curl. That is all that I can see.” Ginny lists off.

“You forgot her boobs.” Harry chuckles. Ginny bristles and lets go of me to go harass her boyfriend. Laughing to my self I drag behind a bit so Draco can catch up with me.

“Have you done any other drawings?” I ask him in a whisper. He looks down at me and smiles slightly as he nods. “May I see them?” another nod.

“After lunch. I can draw one for you too if you want.” He whispers back.

“I would like that. Thank you.”

“What you two whispering bout? Oh and Harry wanted me to tell you that your voice changed as well. It is higher and more like chimes then it was before.” Ginny bursts pulling Harry over to us.

“Nothing, nothing.” Draco responds quickly. Ginny looks at him like she wasn’t expecting him to answer but goes along with it any ways. In reality all of my friends are doing very well accepting Draco though I can still see that Harry, Ginny, and Neville are all still on high guard when he is around me.

“I wonder what Ron will think of this. Do you know Ginny? Harry?” Luna muses. She decided to wear one of her signature outfits today. Pure white booty shorts with a high low bright orange jumper over them. Her hair is in one long, thick braid down her back and is shot through with many different colored ribbons. 

“Luna, did you loose your shoes again?” I ask suddenly noticing that her feet were bare.

“No. I wanted to wear blue sandals but I don’t have any so I am not wearing shoes today.” The strange girl smiles at me. Looking at Neville I see him shoot a helpless look over the blonde witches head.

“I have no idea how he will react. I know he thinks he still loves you, Hermione, though he doesn’t show it very well. I hope he doesn’t get violent. You know how he is.” Ginny answers Luna’s earlier question thoughtfully. I do know, earlier this year when I broke it off with him he went mental. He tore apart the burrow and nearly hit Ginny. She was trying to calm him down, saying things that I’m sure would have hurt me if I were listening and apparently she took it a bit to far. As she said the git still thinks he loves me and apparently will defend my honor even against his sister. Harry had had to step in and bind Ron and wait till he calmed down to end the hex.

We walk into the potions room all together and sit in our seats. Some Hufflepuff students are already seated though I don’t see Ron. Finally the entirety of the class is seated and Professor Slughorn has called the class to attention.

“All right everyone. Potions class has been switched up a bit. Every double period will be a helper class for your Muggle Studies. So today we will be learning how to make different types of food so that none of you starve.” Slughorn explains.

“What kinds of things are you going to teach us?” Lavender asks.

“Oh my dear girl. I cannot cook to save my life. You are going to be learning from the house elves. If you would all follow me please. We need to go down to the kitchens.” Slughorn exclaims.

“I hope the elves are being compensated for their trouble.” I pout quietly as we all gather our things and leave the classroom.

“Come on Mione’” Harry drones pulling me behind Ginny and himself.

“Harry Potter you let me go this instant! I am perfectly able to walk on my own.” I huff pulling my arm away from him. “Honestly, all you males are like a big bunch of baboons always grabbing and pulling never just asking.” I finish my little rant and stare at the singular boy in question. Draco and Neville had stopped right beside him and were struggling to hold in their giggles. I look over to Luna and Ginny for help but they are laughing as well. “What?” I screech slightly exasperated.

“Its just that you are so cute when you’re agitated. You get little red splotches on your cheeks and your eyes light up. You look like a little fiery pixy.” Ginny explains still laughing.

“You take that back Ginerva Weasley!” I mock rage.

“Take back what oh pixyish one.” Ginny teases leaning down to my eye level. 

“Never mind. Come along Draco we have to get to the kitchens.” I stick my nose up in the air, swish my new hair and pull Draco along behind me. The other three stand in the hallway laughing at my silly antics while Luna tags along with us not wanting to be late. Draco, Luna and I get down to the tapestry of the fruit basket just in time to see the last of our classmates disappearing through the door and we join them.

“Alright now Students say hello to Isla and Coen. These two elves are going to try to teach you how to feed yourselves and in a few weeks how to make food for your spell children.” Slughorn explains gesturing to the two little creatures standing on the table beside him. “Drakaina house plus Longbottom and Weasly house are with Isla, the rest of you with Coen. Go.” Slughorn dismisses us.

“Come young masters, Isla is suppose to take you to your stations.” The smaller of the two squeaks. She is very cute. Her large eyes glow a luminous blue and she is wearing the closest thing to a dress I have ever seen on a house elf. The tiny creature leads us to four little cooking stations that I don’t remember being there previously.

“Excuse me Miss. Isla, but what are we going to be cooking today?” Luna asks quietly.

“Oh… Miss. Luna, always so kind to Isla she is.” The little elf stutters. “We is making Greek salad. Then we is making grilled chicken. Then we is making strawberries with cream.”

“Why do we need to know this stuff? It’s not like we are ever going to use it outside of this year. This is stupid.” A snippy voice calls from behind the rest of our group. I look behind me, its Ron. I find it absolutely astonishing that he hasn’t figured out who I am yet.

“Stuff it. Statistically speaking the majority of young magical couples do live in the muggle world and it is not always possible for them to use magic all the time.” I huff.

“Oh yeah and what else do your precious statistics tell you, you bloody scrubber.” Ron spits back in my face.

Tears instantly spring to my eyes and start spilling down my face. How could he? How could he insinuate that… that I…

“You take that back you sodding munter. Now!” Ginny shrieks at her older brother.

“Why are you defending Malfoy’s little whore Gin?” Ronald asks seriously surprised.

“Get out. Get out now you arsehole.” Luna shouts coming over to stand beside me.

“Why? And why isn’t Hermione here? I thought she was that ferrets partner.” Ron asks completely brushing off the dangerous looks that Harry, Draco, Ginny and Luna are giving him. Draco seems to be contemplating hexing the insulting fool and Harry looks like he is in the same boat.

“That is Hermione you prat. You remember her don’t you? That girl that saved our hides more times then I care to admit.” Harry angrily whispers at the flabbergasted redhead.

“The hell she is. She is a Malfoy if I ever saw one.” The arsehole snaps back.

“Just get away. Get away.” I trail falling into the two girls standing beside me.

“Um… Isla is suppose to be teaching you food.” The small elf pipes up meekly from the corner. 

“Is there a problem over here? Because if there is you need to find resolution immediately.” Slughorn commands, walking up behind Lavender.

“As head boy and leader of the mock community, am I allowed to exact punishment upon those students whom break some of the rules of the community as I see fit?” Draco asks with an almost feral look in his eye.

“So long as it is within reason.” Slughorn nods to himself.

“Very well then.” Draco moves to stand beside me as the two girls move away. “In accordance with the laws of our community I fine you, Ronald Weasley, four hundred points. For your verbal attack on the female head of our community and your repeated disrespect of these women in general.”

“I second.” Harry calls out.

“And I third that decision.” Neville says quietly glancing at Luna who seems to be drifting off into her own world again.

“Bull shit. Just because your aunt runs this program doesn’t mean that you hold all the power here. Now where is Hermione?” Ronald demands.

“Colligavi.” (bind) “What would you like me to tell them about you first? Oh I know! Remember how you kept your sox on when we first shagged? Or how about that you only lasted two minutes? Or what about in the tent last year when Harry was on guard and we were in the tent how I had to wake you up almost every night to keep you from thrashing out of your bed. Or what about in the chamber you insisted that I kill the horcrux. Do I need to go on?” I was nearly shouting by my last statement. Ronald has gone white and looks like he would fall over if I hadn’t bound him. Harry, Draco, and Neville are laughing behind me though they are trying to keep quiet. Ginny is in out right hysterics and leaning heavily on Harry. Luna seems to be off in her own world having picked up Isla and is now talking to her seriously about some form of magical creature or another. Lavender seems to be conflicted about something as well though I can’t quite tell what it is.

“She is right Ronald, even in the spell last night your performance was less then satisfactory, though it was substantially longer then what Hermione was saying.” Lavender chimes in smirking to her self.

“Factus sum Agitabilis” (Become mobile) “Still don’t believe that I’m me?” I ask sticking my nose up in the air.

“What the hell did Malfoy do to you? I swear I’ll kill him.” Ron shouts, recovering quickly. 

“You will not touch him. So help me god if you lay a single finger on him I will curse you to kingdom come. Get out. Just go.” I hiss venomously and raise my wand slightly. Ron stumbles back a bit and I can see his defenses crumbling. He quickly turns and walks over to an empty station under Coen, Lavender in tow.

“Well that was not pleasant.” Luna’s dreamy voice wisps over to us.

“Decidedly not.” Ginny agrees with the waif like girl. 

“Come now, Miss. Isla, you were going to show us how to make those dishes?” Neville asks gently.

“Oh yes. I was wasn’t I. You’s all need the spinach first.” Isla says hopping up on the counter to better see what we were doing.

***  
“How many points do we have now?” I ask glancing across the table at Draco.

“One thousand four hundred and ten. Are you done with your potions work?” he asks.

“Yes. What do you want to do now? We still have about an hour before lights out.”

“I think there is a pool in the meeting house, we could go swimming.”

“Great let me just go get my bathing suit.” I reply.

“I need mine as well.” Draco follows me up the stairs into our room. I walk into the closet and grab the suit I was thinking of. It is a dusty grey bikini that I suppose will fit the best now seeing as the straps around the waist and neck are adjustable. Draco walks to his set of drawers and pulls out his own pair of plain black trunks. Flipping through my hung clothes I find a soft blue dress that I would pull over my suit. Turning quickly I bump into a solid mass of warmth. Stumbling Draco catches me and sets me right on my feet. Blushing furiously I look down at our feet and notice that he hasn’t let me go yet. Slowly I look up through my lashes and hair to find that he is staring at me intently. Slowly, oh so slowly, his hand comes up to my face and pushes my hair behind my ear. My eyelids flutter at the light brush of his fingertips over my skin and his all seeing eyes catch the small motion, a small smile appearing on his lips.

“Draco…” I trail as his eyes flick down to my lips, gently he brings his lips to mine barely brushing them at first but then the kiss gets stronger. My hand finds its way up behind his head, curling in his hair, and his find their way around my waist. Lifting my off the ground I wrap my legs around him and he carries me out of the closet and back into the bedroom the clothes I had had in my hands forgotten on the floor.

Laying me down on the bed he comes to rest on top of me, supporting himself on his elbows, his knee falling between mine. One of his hands brushed my hair behind my ears and his face comes down to mine again. I press my hands to his chest, working my fingers under the hem of his t-shirt and lift it up over his head. My hands roam over his skin, exploring the smooth plains. His hands flutter down my sides to the hem of my own shirt and as he lifts it up I lift my body so he can lift it off all the way. Our pants soon follow and we are then left in nothing but underthings. I reach behind me and undo the clasp, letting my bra fall. Gently Draco removes my panties and then his own shorts. Remembering the pleasure of the night before I ready myself for the small pain that accompanied his entrance the last time but when he does enter there is no pain for which I am glad.

Immediately he begins to move and pleasurable feelings fill me once more, faster this time and more powerfully. In no time at all I am teetering on the edge, just moments away from falling. When I do go over the edge Draco comes with me and we both collapse. Slowly he pulls out and gathers me to his chest tucking my head in the hollow of his shoulder.

“Draco?” I trail.

“Good night love.”

***

“Excuse me.” Draco calls as he runs to the bathroom. He turns on the shower again and I chuckle to myself. I get up off the bed and walk into the closet to find some sleep clothes. Deciding on a loose t-shirt and sweats I walk back into the bedroom just as Draco is coming out of the bathroom. Crawling up on the bed I set my wand on the table and pull the covers up over my body. Draco stands awkwardly beside the bed, just standing there on his toes. Sighing I flip down his side of the covers and wait for him to lie down be fore laying down myself, on my back. Not touching him but still close enough that if I reached my hand out I would find his.

“Good night Draco.”


End file.
